Sugar and Spice, It's Not Always Nice
by Flyaway Dove
Summary: COMPLETE! HarryPotter Charmed Crossover. The daughter of Prue Halliwell and Sirius Black must join the war when her parents die to battle good, evil & the hardships of Hogwarts.
1. Prologue

**Sugar and Spice, It's Not Always Nice**

**A/N: This is the updated prologue, though my author's note at the end is still the same…**

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**Prologue**

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"Pepper! You have a visitor!" Phoebe Halliwell yelled into the house. She smiled at the man in the doorway and invited him in. He stepped into the entryway as they both waited for Pepper's appearance. They watched as she poked her head out into the room from the staircase, beaming as she saw the weary middle aged man standing in the doorway.

"Dad!" she shouted, running down the stairs into the arms of her father. He laughed and ruffled his daughter's hair. "I haven't seen you in _ages_! Where have you been? Aunt Piper, come see who's here!" Pepper shouted in the direction of the kitchen.

Piper appeared in the kitchen doorway, grinned, and walked toward the front door, hugging the man. "Sirius, it's so good to see you, how have you been?" she asked him. "You look awful," she added. He laughed.

"I know," he answered. "I have so much to tell you all."

"Why don't we go into the living room; I'll make some coffee," Piper said as she returned to the kitchen.

"So dad what have you been up to lately?" Pepper asked. "Still on the run?" she half-joked.

"Yes," he answered.

"Are you still in touch with your godson and all those people in that thing of that bird, too?"

Sirius and Phoebe chuckled. "The Order of the Phoenix, yes. We're working on a plan to defeat Voldemort at the moment." Piper returned with the coffee and passed a mug to each person.

"Four sugars and cream, Aunt Piper?" Pepper asked.

"Yes," Piper answered, smiling a bit.

"Thanks," Pepper said and blew on the liquid to cool it down. Piper sat down next to Phoebe and sipped at her coffee.

"If you're here, where's Prue? She was helping, wasn't she?" Phoebe asked.

Sirius' face fell and he looked down at his mug. "That's why I came," he said solemnly.

"Dad? What's wrong with mom?" Pepper asked, concerned.

When Sirius looked up, tears were running down his face. Pepper set her mug down on the coffee table and placed her hand on her father's knee. "Dad?" she said again.

"She…" he began, "Prue's…dead."

"What?" Piper hissed. Phoebe dropped her coffee and the mug shattered as it hit the hardwood floor, the brownish liquid spilling on the area rug, but no one seemed to notice. Pepper tensed instantly, tears welling in her eyes.

"Prue…she's…dead…" Sirius repeated.

"No," Pepper said quietly. Sirius nodded grimly. The three Halliwells began to cry, Pepper jumping to her feet. "And you were there, right? That's how you know she's DEAD!" she screamed at her father.

"Yes," he said, "I was there. I-I watched it happen."

"You watched it happen!" she shrieked. "And you didn't _do _anything about it?!"

"Pepper," Phoebe warned weakly.

"No! He watched it happen and he didn't save her! How dare you! Did you WANT her dead?!" she continued to shout at her father.

Sirius opened his mouth to say something but he suddenly stopped. Pepper whirled around to face her aunt. "Unfreeze him!" she yelled at Piper. "I want to yell at him some more!"

"Pepper!" Piper yelled back at her niece. "Let him explain!"

"Don't you get it?!" Pepper yelled desperately. "Don't you understand? My mom is dead!" A new wave of tears hit her forcefully and Phoebe wrapped her arms around the younger girl.

"Pepper," Phoebe said softly into Pepper's ebony hair. "We do understand. Our mom died, too, remember. And Prue was our sister. At least you'll have memories of your mother, honey, it'll be all right."

"Oh, Aunt Phoebe, I'm so sorry," Pepper apologized, hugging her aunt back. "I'm sorry, Aunt Piper," she said, looking at Piper. Piper stood up, joining the hug between her sister and her niece.

"It's alright, Pepper, I understand," she said, and sniffled. "I'm going to have to unfreeze your dad, please let him explain."

"A-alright," Pepper agreed, drying her eyes unsuccessfully, as the tears kept falling. Phoebe sat Pepper down next to her and put her arm around her niece.

Piper unfroze Sirius and said, "Darling, let me explain…" he stopped, seeing that the three witches had moved. His brow wrinkled in confusion, before what happened dawned on him.

"Then explain it to me, dad," Pepper said angrily.

"I know this might not sound right…but it was her time. She…she told me it was."

"Well what the hell happened?!" his daughter screamed at him.

"We were both in our Animigus forms, I've told you about them, right … well … we were trying to throw some Death Eaters off track, and … as Prue was a … a cat … one of them … they kicked her in this river … after she'd attacked the lot of 'em … she turned human again and tried to fight it … but the-the current, it was too strong and, and then she just … stopped fighting it. I tried to get her out but … she told me it wouldn't help…that the river wanted her, help would do no good … it was her time. I kept t-trying to help her…but it…it seemed she was right…the river seemed to knock me back. She just got swept away by the current. Prue said that if anything ever happened to her I should tell Pepper that she loved her s-so much and that … that she'd always be with her…that she was so proud of her little girl … and she loved her sisters…and she didn't want you to mourn her death too much … there were still innocents to save…she didn't want to leave you, any of you," Sirius explained shakily, tears forming in his eyes again.

"Oh god," Phoebe said, crying again also. Pepper was hysterical and ran up to her room. Piper tried to stop her but Phoebe shook her head at Piper so they turned their attention to Sirius.

"With Prue out of the war that means you…" Piper began.

Sirius nodded. "There's only a few more months in the year so Dumbledore suggested the start of next term."

"Oh god," Phoebe said again. "We'd better contact Paige then, right?"

Piper nodded at her sister. "Best to do what Prue said and not…mourn her death for long, there are still people out there that need help." She batted ferociously at her tears.

Sirius smiled weakly. "Now there's the Halliwells I know. I have to get back, there's still a lot of work I have to do for the Order."

Upstairs, Pepper slammed her door and slid down it, sitting on the floor. Tears streaming heavily down her cheeks she yelled: "Leo! Uncle Leo!" as loud as she could, and then put her head in her hands and wept. Half a minute later, Leo appeared in her bedroom, and, taking in the situation, wrapped Pepper in his arms.

"Shhh," he whispered. "What's wrong?" he asked her.

"My-my mom," she wailed. "She's…dead!"

Leo looked down at her wide-eyed. "Prue? She's dead?" Pepper nodded fervently then collapsed into tears again. "Let's go down and see your aunts, sweetie, I wanna talk to them, ok?"

"N-no, you go. I'll stay up here," Pepper managed to squeak out. Leo picked her up and placed her on her bed before walking out. "I'm so scared, Uncle Leo," he heard her say softly. He walked back over to the bed and kissed the top of her head.

"It'll be alright, Pepper. It really will," he assured her. "Get some sleep, now, we'll deal with everything tomorrow." He kissed her again and exited the room and went downstairs. "What's this about Prue being dead?" he asked the three in the living room.

"Oh, Leo," Piper said rushing to him and embracing him tightly. "She's dead, she really is." Leo's breath hitched in his throat. He could feel tears coming on.

"L-Leo," Phoebe began through her tears, "this is Sirius Black, Pepper's f-father. He can explain what happened, he-he was there." Leo sat down with Piper on one side of him and Phoebe on the other. He soothed them both as Sirius told him the story and by the end, Leo was crying too.

"I'd better go," Sirius said. "I've already been here longer than I should have. Do you know what has to happen now, Leo?" he asked the other man.

"Yes, I do," Leo said. "Piper's filled me in on what would happen if Prue was unable to participate in the war any longer. You know she's the most powerful witch of her era, possibly in the world, at this point. A witch in the Charmed family, with a foot in both magical worlds."

The other three adults nodded. "We all know that, but she doesn't," Phoebe said.

"And I think it might be better if it stayed that way, at least for now. She doesn't need to be aware of the immense power she has," Piper put in. "Though she might already suspect because she has three natural powers already, and we only have two."

"She'll probably stand out at school, since she already knows and can do so much," Sirius said. "Though, some things will be new to her, I suspect. I've taught her as much about the school as I could in the few times I've been with her for long stretches of time, to prepare her for this. I hope she's ready. I'm sure she'll catch on quickly to everything, she always does."

"She doesn't know what she's in for, does she?" Leo asked his wife and her sister. They shook their heads.

"We didn't see the need to tell her until she had to go. No need to worry her unless absolutely necessary," Piper said. "And I think I'd like to wait a few days to tell her, I know what it's like to loose a mother young."

"I bet it's harder for her, too, at almost sixteen instead of two or even seven," Phoebe pointed out. "Poor kid."

"Why don't you two go to bed, I'll stay as long as I can," Leo said.

"And I'll get going, I just want to say goodbye to Pepper," Sirius said. He went over to the couch, hugged Piper and Phoebe, and shook Leo's hand. "I'll keep in touch with you two," he said to the Halliwells. He went upstairs and knocked on Pepper's door. Receiving no answer he walked in to find his daughter sleeping, her limbs sprawled out on the bed, a troubled look on her tear stained face. Sirius leaned down and kissed his daughter's forehead. "Good luck, darling," he whispered. "I love you. I can't imagine the power you'll have with a wand in your hand…" With that, he Apparated from the house.

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Okay, so that was the prologue. Don't make fun of me for the way Prue dies; it really seriously came to me in a dream like that. See there was this dog, who was Sirius Black, and he was sitting on this patch of grass right by a river and I was there as me and I watched Prue Halliwell get carried away by a current and I was shouting "MOM!" and then when she got swept away (after telling me to let go, it was her time), I was shouting at Sirius who was my father, why he didn't save her, and he also told me that it was her time to go. So there you go, it's all my dreams fault.

R&R please! Hope you enjoyed, look for the next chapter soon!

Flyaway Dove


	2. Chapter 1: Sweet Sixteen

Here's Chapter One, which is a lot longer than the prologue. Double spaced this is 12 pages and the prologue was only 4. Anyway, the rating's gone up for some icky stuff that happens.... Please R&R!  
  
-FAD  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
Chapter 1  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
"His letters have stopped, Piper," Phoebe said one morning a few months later. She was at the breakfast table looking through the mail while Piper made breakfast. "Do you think something's happened to him?"  
  
"Sirius' letters?" Piper asked, already knowing the answer. "Well he is a fugitive, maybe he just can't get to a pen and paper," she shrugged, turning back to the skillet.  
  
"He hasn't written for months though, do you think something's happened?" Phoebe asked worriedly.  
  
"I'm sure he's fine," Piper said, a bit worried herself. "Do you think Pepper's noticed?" Phoebe shrugged.  
  
"What have I noticed?" Pepper yawned, coming into the kitchen in her robe.  
  
"Uh, that your birthday's tomorrow," Phoebe said, thinking quickly.  
  
"Is it?" Pepper said. After the day she found out her mom died she hadn't noticed much of anything. And finally it was her 16th birthday tomorrow, the one she'd been waiting for all her life, and she wasn't excited at all. Her mom had promised her a car, she remembered, a light pink convertible VW bug with a cream colored top. That might be the only thing to cheer her up. She'd been trying to go on with her life, doing what her mother requested, but it was too hard. Pepper supposed it would be a bit easier when she went to a real school in the fall, with other things to worry about. She hoped it would at least wake her up from the half-reality she was currently living in.  
  
"What do you want to do to celebrate?" Phoebe asked brightly.  
  
"Nothing." Pepper answered dejectedly, sitting down across from Phoebe at the table.  
  
"Not even go to P3?" Piper asked, bringing over two plates of scrambled eggs and toast and placing them in front of her sister and her niece. "There's a band you'll love playing tomorrow night..."  
  
"Thanks but no," Pepper said.  
  
"Pepper, you haven't left the house in ages, you need to get out. I order you to get out of the house. We could go get your hair done or something, it is getting rather long," Phoebe said, picking up a piece of Pepper's hair and rubbing it between her fingers before letting it go again.  
  
"Fine!" Pepper moaned, giving in. "You guys can plan a day for me for my wonderful 16th birthday. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to read some of the books my dad gave me for school. He says if I'm gonna be the best student there I have to read all the books from years one through six," she announced, cheer present in her voice.  
  
"Alright honey, have fun," Piper said, sitting down and eating the breakfast meant for Pepper. "She hasn't been eating," she said to her sister after she was sure Pepper had left.  
  
"I know," Paige said, walking into the kitchen and sitting down with her sisters. "I'm getting worried. I don't want her to do anything to herself."  
  
"Me neither," Phoebe agreed. "She just took Prue's death so hard. I hope nothing's happened to Sirius, that might kill her."  
  
"She loves him so much, it just might..." Piper said. "We already lost our sister, I couldn't bear loosing our niece."  
  
"Especially because she's so strong," Paige added. "But, you know, we could loose her, in this big battle she's supposed take part in. Isn't it supposed to be really dangerous?"  
  
"Yes, but Leo did say she was the most powerful witch around, even if she doesn't know. Do you think we should tell her? Or at least tell her the part she's supposed to play in this damn war?" Piper fumed.  
  
"I think she deserves to know but I'm not sure if it's our place to tell her," Phoebe said. "Didn't that Dumbledore man say we shouldn't worry her any more right now, just let her figure it out on her own." There was a pause; none of them could think of anything to say to that. "Well, anyway," Phoebe continued, "I've got to run, see you guys later." She stood, picked up her bag from the living room, and left.  
  
Piper sighed. "I've got to go too, I have a meeting this afternoon at the club and I want to clean up there a bit. Pepper's letting us plan a day for her tomorrow, so if you want to get working on that?"  
  
"Sure," Paige said. When Piper left she went rifling through the kitchen drawers for a pad and paper to make a list of things to do for her niece's birthday.  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
Pepper awoke to the sound of a blaring horn. "What the hell," she mumbled, pulling the covers over her head and trying to go back to sleep. The horn stopped screaming for a few minutes, then started up again.  
  
"Come on!" a voice from outside yelled. The horn blared again. "Pepper!" the voice hollered. "Get your lazy ass out of that bed and down here!" The person laid on the horn again.  
  
Pepper got drunkenly out of bed and threw on her robe, making her way down the stairs. She nearly fell but caught her balance as she heard the horn again. She stumbled outside and said, "Who just called my ass-MY CAR!" She ran up to the light pink VW running her hands over its smooth exterior. "Thank you thank you thank you thank you!" she cried, hugging each of her aunts in turn. They all laughed.  
  
"Your welcome, honey," Phoebe said, hugging her niece again. "We were going to take you for your driving test, if you'd like to go."  
  
"Definitely!" Pepper exclaimed, running back into the house to get dressed. As she dashed back out of her room, she ran head on into Leo. "Uncle Leo!"  
  
Leo chuckled and guessed she'd already seen the car. "Hey birthday girl," he said. He pulled her into an embrace.  
  
"Are youf stayfink wiff uf all day?" she asked into his shirt. He let go of her so she could speak properly. "Are you staying with us all day?" she repeated.  
  
"As long as I can," he told her. Piper had told him about her concerns for Pepper's health, emotionally and physically, so he had told the Elders it was important for his niece to have a day where she could forget about her mother, and have fun. They'd agreed to not call him unless the situation was dire.  
  
"Well come on then! I'm going for my driver's test." She grabbed his arm and pulled him out the door like a six year old instead of a sixteen year old. "Um..." she began when they arrived at the car. "How exactly are we all going to fit in this car?"  
  
"Leo and I can take my car," Piper offered, getting her keys from her purse.  
  
"Yea, so they can have an excuse to make out," Phoebe muttered.  
  
"What was that?" Piper asked.  
  
"Uh, I said 'Can I drive, Pepper?'" Phoebe answered, smiling.  
  
"Sure, Aunt Pheeb," Pepper said, uninterested in anything but taking her test. She, Phoebe and Paige climbed into the VW and Phoebe started the engine. Pepper breathed in the scent of new leather and sighed. "I can't believe I actually have my car," she said. "It's wonderful. I really hope I get my permit so I can drive it," she laughed briefly.  
  
"So now that I can drive, where are we headed?" asked a beaming Pepper, holding her permit triumphantly.  
  
"Beauty salon?" Paige suggested.  
  
"Alright," Pepper said, jumping into the car and sticking the key in the ignition. "Let's hit the road, I'm ready to be beautified."  
  
After the salon, the five went clothes shopping – much to Leo's dislike – and then headed on to P3, Pepper looking better and feeling more confident. She was glad her aunts talked her into leaving the house; she'd had a great birthday and hadn't thought about her mother all day. At the club, Piper got them a table and went to talk to the cook. When she returned, she was smiling and told the group the food was coming up. She slid into the booth next to Leo and announced that it was time for presents. Pepper protested, saying the car was more than enough but Piper shoved a package at her.  
  
Pepper studied the package before opening it, guessing at what it could be. The box was small and rectangular, so she guessed it was jewelry. Upon opening the box, she found her suspicions were correct. When she lifted the lid, her eyes grew wide. "Aunt Piper," she said, "it's beautiful."  
  
"It was my mother's," Piper explained. "I thought you should have it."  
  
"Thank you," Pepper said, leaning over and giving her aunt a hug and a kiss on the cheek. The piece of jewelry in question was a gold heart pendant with tiny rubies along the outline with a small star shaped diamond in the center. Leo then handed a gift to Pepper.  
  
She opened the thin box and discovered a Walkman and three CDs. In the other box, which was taped to the first, there was a designer handbag. "Wow, cool," Pepper said. "Thanks, Uncle Leo." She blew him a kiss across the table since she couldn't reach him to give him a hug.  
  
"Me next," Phoebe said, handing over a large box. This gift was much larger than the jewelry box and when Pepper removed the wrapping paper, she still couldn't tell what it was. It was just a plain, cardboard box. When she opened the box's flaps she found a multitude of beauty supplies inside. There were bubble baths, creams, lip-glosses, eye shadows, lipsticks, blushes, bath gels, body sprays, and nail polishes. Her Aunt Phoebe gave her another, smaller box and Pepper opened that right away, wanting to know what it was. She found that the box had a numerous amount of brushes for the blushes, eye shadows and a few of the lip-glosses.  
  
"Dang," Pepper said. "Thanks a lot Aunt Phoebe." She hugged and kissed Phoebe before taking Paige's gift.  
  
"It makes up for all of your stuff I've ever used," Phoebe said, smiling a bit.  
  
The box containing Paige's gift was shaped like the boxes clothes come in, so Pepper opened it eagerly, always ready for more clothes. She ripped the tape off of one side of the box and lifted the lid halfway, stopping when she saw what was inside. "Aunt Paige!" she exclaimed, blushing. Pepper was looking at two black, lacy bras and matching underwear, at least one pair, she guessed, was a thong.  
  
"What?" Paige said innocently. "Come on, Pep, there's no need to get worked up over a harmless book."  
  
"What book?"  
  
Paige reached inside the box, under the lacy underwear, and pulled out a book on writing poetry. "This book," she told the younger woman.  
  
"Paige, what the hell did you get her?" Piper demanded.  
  
"A book," Paige answered, holding it up to show her accusing sister. "See, look, it's a harmless book on poetry."  
  
"What else is in that box?" Piper pressed.  
  
"I'd rather not show it in public," Pepper answered, stowing it under the table as their food appeared.  
  
"It's not a vibrator, is it?" Phoebe asked after their food had been served and the waiter had left.  
  
Pepper began choking on her water, Paige had to pat her on the back, and Piper yelled "Phoebe!"  
  
"What?" Phoebe asked through a mouthful of ravioli, "I was just wondering."  
  
After everyone had gone to bed that night Pepper went downstairs, grabbed her car keys off of the key rack and went to sit in her car. She hadn't gotten to explore every nook and cranny of it yet, so she began going through everything. Under the drivers seat she found a heavy scrapbook with a note taped to the front.  
  
Pepper –  
We're not sure how long it will take you to find this, but knowing you, not very long. This is a scrapbook your mother kept of you as you grew up, and we know she'd want you to have it. It's full of things we're sure will amuse you, and remind you of your mother very much, so don't look at it unless you're prepared. You might even like to continue it with the rest of your life. You may do with it what you want, (except throw it away or burn it), but we're sure you won't do those things and you'll treasure it forever. We love you very much, sweetie, and we're very proud of you.  
  
Love,  
Aunt Piper, Aunt Phoebe and Aunt Paige  
  
Pepper smiled and opened the scrapbook to the first page. There was a picture of her mother and father holding her as a baby and a picture of her baby self poking her father in the eye. As she flipped the pages, she saw that it documented her life up to her 15th birthday, before her mother had gone off to fight the war with her father. She got out of the car, with the scrapbook, and went back up to her room. She placed the book under her pillow and fell into a dreamless sleep.  
  
"Do you think she found the scrapbook?" Phoebe asked her two sisters as she came away from the window and sat back down on the bed.  
  
"Probably," Paige answered.  
  
"I had a premonition earlier," Phoebe told her sisters. "It-it wasn't very good."  
  
"Was it about Pepper?"  
  
Phoebe nodded. "And about Sirius. He...he's dead, I think. Pepper had a letter in her hand that told her he was dead."  
  
The Halliwells' faces fell. "Are you sure that's what the letter said?" Piper asked, wanting to make sure her niece really was going to have to go through all that she'd had to a few months ago. Phoebe nodded. "Dammit," Piper swore. "Poor girl. This just might kill her."  
  
"That's what I'm afraid of," Phoebe said solemnly.  
  
Rap. Rap. Rap. Rap. It took Pepper a minute to realize the sound was not in a dream. She awoke from her half conscious state and sat up in her bed to figure out where the sound was coming from. She saw something at her window and cautiously got up to see what it was. She looked at the figure curiously and found it was a bird. An owl. It continued to rap its beak on the window. Pepper remembered something her dad had told her about people communicating with owls where he was from. She saw that the owl had a letter tied to its foot so she opened the window to let it in.  
  
It was a beautiful snowy white owl and it landed on her desk, taking a drink from the three-day-old glass of water there. She approached it slowly and carefully reached for its leg to get the letter. The owl held out its leg so she could get the parchment and she untied it. 'Pepper,' it said on the front. Finding that it was, in fact, for her, she unfolded it to see what it said, hoping it was from her father.  
  
Dear Pepper,  
This is Harry Potter, your god brother. I'm afraid I have some bad news. I'm sure you're aware your dad's helping with the fight against Voldemort. Well, he was captured a while ago, so we went to save him, and I'll spare you the details, but basically there was a huge battle and...your, I think it would be second cousin...she killed him...he's dead.  
  
There was more of the letter but Pepper didn't care to read it. She just shrieked at the top of her lungs. A few seconds later her aunts burst through the door, startled and concerned looks on their faces. Phoebe, after seeing the letter, stared at Pepper, seeing what she would do. Piper picked up the letter and began reading it.  
  
"Two parents in five months!" Pepper suddenly howled. "That must be some kind of record! I might as well just kill myself now!"  
  
"P-Pepper, honey, you don't mean that," Phoebe told her, hoping Pepper was just hysterical and wouldn't commit suicide.  
  
"Yes!" Pepper exclaimed, nodding her head furiously. "Yes I do!" She then fainted, landing on the hard floor. Paige swiftly walked over to her, picked her up and placed her on the bed.  
  
The three sisters stood there, not knowing what to do. The owl ruffled its wings. "Did you finish reading that letter, Piper?"  
  
"Yea," Piper answered. "It says that Pepper's god brother, Harry, is coming here two days before school starts to take her to... Diagon Alley in London to get some school things and fill her in on things at school...and then he'd like to spend two nights so he can escort her to the train station the morning school begins."  
  
"How's he getting here?" Paige wondered.  
  
"Something called Floo Powder. Apparently it's through the fire place?" Piper said, grimacing. "Whatever. For now, I think we should worry about our nice; make sure she won't carry out that threat she made. I'm going to write something back, to get this owl out of here and tell him that's fine..."  
  
Dear Harry,  
I'm Pepper's Aunt Piper, I'm writing because Pepper seems to be unable to. She didn't take the news too well; now both her parents are dead, as you might be aware. It must be hard for you too, to loose your godfather, I'm terribly sorry for your loss. We're fine with the arrangements you mentioned, and we're looking forward to your visit.  
Sincerely,  
Piper  
  
She tied the letter to the owl's leg and opened the window so it could leave. Then she and her sisters returned to bed, none of them able to get much sleep.  
  
"Is she still sleeping?" Phoebe asked Paige as her sister entered the room the next afternoon. Paige nodded. "I don't think I blame her. She was in such a state of shock last night. Do you think we should take her to a doctor? Maybe get her a psychiatrist to help her deal with this? Should we not let her go to school in the fall? The war's too dangerous for her, especially now, with her so mentally and physically broken down," Phoebe said quickly, worry apparent on her face.  
  
"Pheebs, don't worry, it'll be ok, we'll work it out," Paige assured her sister. "Is Piper out?"  
  
"Yea," Phoebe answered. "I told her to go do what she needed to do, we could hold down the fort here."  
  
Pepper woke up from her long slumber not sure why she had a headache for a minute, before the events of last night came flooding back to her. She grabbed her car keys from her nightstand and walked quietly down the stairs and out the front door.  
  
When Phoebe went upstairs to check on her niece, she found she wasn't in bed. The panic set in, and she practically flew back downstairs, yelling, "Paige, she's not in bed!" At that moment the front door opened and Pepper strolled in twirling her car keys around on one finger. "Where have you been?!" Phoebe cried.  
  
"For a drive," Pepper responded coolly.  
  
"But you don't have your license!" Paige said, now as mad as Phoebe. "Are you trying to get yourself killed!"  
  
"So what if I am?" Pepper said, walking up the stairs. They heard her door slam and winced as it shook the house.  
  
"Shit," Phoebe said. "She wanted to kill herself."  
  
"Shit's right," Paige agreed. "Should I call Piper?"  
  
"Not yet, I'm going to go try to talk to her," Phoebe answered, marching up the stairs. When she reached Pepper's door, she knocked lightly, calling, "Pepper, could you open the door, please? I'd like to talk to you." She got no response, so she knocked again and repeated her statement. When she got no answer the second time she tried the doorknob – it was locked. "Pepper!" she said, turning the doorknob rapidly. Phoebe ran into her room and grabbed a bobby pin from her dresser and, returning to Pepper's door, quickly picked the lock. She kicked the door open and almost screamed at the sight before her.  
  
Pepper, looking at her innocently, tears running in rivers down her cheeks, was sitting on her bed, blood covering her pale arms, a razor in one hand. Phoebe grabbed the nearest shirt and rushed to her niece, prying the razor from Pepper's hand and flinging it across the room. She then wrapped the shirt tightly around both of Pepper's arms, causing the girl to wince slightly. "Paige!" she shouted. She kneeled on the heavily blood stained carpet in front of Pepper, holding the shirt on her arms as tightly as she could: to stop the bleeding. "Paige!"  
  
Paige ran up the stairs, dashing to the two Halliwell's in Pepper's room when she spotted the blood-soaked shirt. "Get some help," Phoebe croaked at Paige, now crying herself. "Hurry!"  
  
"LEO!" Paige screamed deafeningly. "LEO!"  
  
Leo appeared almost instantly, and after spotting the problem (which wasn't too hard to do), he pushed Phoebe aside and yanked the shirt from Pepper's arms. A minute later, she was healed, though everything was bloody and there were still scars present on Pepper's arms. Phoebe instantly hugged her niece, sitting on the bed and crying into her hair. Leo sat down in the desk chair and stared at Pepper, shocked at what she'd done. Paige went into the other room to call Piper and Pepper sat there, stiff as a board and staring straight ahead.  
  
When Paige was done calling her sister, she returned to Pepper's room and sat on the bed with her other sister and her niece. No one said anything for ten minutes until Piper burst in the room, sighing, "Oh, baby," she seated herself on the other side of Pepper, hugging her lightly and kissing her cheek.  
  
"Aunt Phoebe," Pepper's voice came out in a harsh whisper. "Can I talk to you?"  
  
"Sure, honey," Phoebe said, taking Pepper's hand and leading her into the bedroom next door. "You sure scared me," she said when she'd closed the door. "You scared all of us. "D-do you really want to die, sweetie?"  
  
Pepper shrugged. "It just seems like the easiest thing to do at this point. I don't see any reason in living."  
  
Phoebe took hold of Pepper's shoulders and looked directly into her eyes. "Oh but you will, as time goes on. You still have me, your Aunt Piper, Uncle Leo and Aunt Paige. We all love you so much. Hey, not to mention all the friends you'll make at school this year. And your car, too, you can't forget that."  
  
Pepper smiled half-heartedly. "I'll have to leave it here when I go to school, anyway. Nothing guarantees I'll make friends, either."  
  
"With your beauty and your sweet, friendly disposition I'm sure you'll make tons of friends," Phoebe answered cheerily, fingering the girl's dark hair. The thing is, Pep, you've got so much to live for, and your parents wouldn't want you to kill yourself, they'd want you to move on. They're still watching over you, sweetie, you know that."  
  
"I guess you're right, Aunt Phoebe, thanks," Pepper said, hugging her aunt.  
  
"Of course I'm right! Now let's go for some ice cream," Phoebe suggested.  
  
"Can I drive?" Pepper requested hopefully.  
  
"I'm not sure if you should, sweetums, aren't you feeling a bit lightheaded from all that blood you lost?" Phoebe asked, concerned again.  
  
Pepper shrugged her shoulders. "A little I guess. Can we at least take my car?"  
  
"Sure, now let's get going. I'm gonna tell everyone where we're headed, do you want to start out to the car?"  
  
"Kay," Pepper responded, starting down the stairs.  
  
"You haven't been eating a lot, you know," Phoebe told Pepper as they waited in line to get their ice cream.  
  
"I haven't been hungry," Pepper answered.  
  
"Well you'll starve yourself to death if you don't eat soon. How much do you weigh?"  
  
"Um...hundred three," Pepper said softly.  
  
"Pepper!" Phoebe exclaimed. "You've got to eat!" Their turn came in line and Phoebe ordered a banana split with all the toppings and a small vanilla cup.  
  
"You must be hungry, Aunt Phoebe," Pepper said as their ice cream was placed on the counter. She took the vanilla cup and Phoebe shook her head at her. Phoebe then handed her the banana split and took the cup for herself.  
  
"You're the one that needs to eat," Phoebe pointed out.  
  
"But I'll never be able to eat all of this," Pepper complained as they sat down at a picnic table.  
  
"Too bad," Phoebe said, taking a scoop of her ice cream.  
  
"Why do I have four powers instead of two, Aunt Phoebe?" Pepper asked suddenly, digging into to her banana split.  
  
"Four?" Phoebe said, surprised. "I thought you only had three."  
  
"No, it's like Mom passed her power on to me when she died or something, 'cos now I can move things. But why do I have so many?"  
  
"Maybe it's because you're powerful," Phoebe hinted.  
  
"Ya think?" Pepper said, smiling at the thought of being a powerful witch. "Then could I go out of the house to fight demons instead of just fighting the ones that come to the house?"  
  
"Oh, Pep, you're probably already a good enough witch to fight demons with us, especially now that you have four powers. I mean, you've studied both branches of magic and you have four natural abilities...it's just that we're too overprotective of you."  
  
"Owh, Ah hee," Pepper said through a mouthful of banana and ice cream. She swallowed. "Do you think I'll be able to freeze the people at school then?"  
  
"I think that because they're different types of witches...and wizards, that you will be able to."  
  
"What do you mean, different types?" Pepper asked, curious. She hadn't heard much about the school she was to be attending.  
  
"Well, they don't have single natural powers. They're naturally a witch or wizard and then they go to a Wizarding school where they learn different witchcraft/wizardry skills like..."  
  
"I know what skills, that's what's in most of the books d-I have," Pepper said, not wanting to say anything about her dad. "So do you think those things will make me even more powerful?"  
  
"No doubt about it," Phoebe answered, finishing up her ice cream.  
  
"Cool..." Pepper smirked. "I'm seein' most powerful witch in the world..."  
  
She just didn't know how right she was.  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
I hope you enjoyed this wonderful chapter, I'm making great progress on this story, I'm actually ahead of my postings, usually they're ahead of me and I have to hurry and finish them. I think the next chapter should be up by tomorrow, July 2nd so look for it then! REVIEW por favor!  
  
-Flyaway Dove 


	3. Chapter 2: The BoyWhoLived

Disclaimer (since I haven't put one in yet): I own nothing but the plot in this story, though it would be really cool if I owned Harry Potter and Charmed...  
  
A/N: I'm not sure I'm going to keep this story in the Charmed section since it's mostly Harry Potter from this chapter on, Pepper's still the main character, of course, but it mostly takes place in Hogwarts and such. This chapter really was supposed to be 13 pages long but I cut it into two parts and added some so...well, this chapter's 9 pages, I don't know about the next chapter. Anyway, enjoy!  
  
-Flyaway Dove  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
Chapter 2  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
"He'll be here any minute, are we sure the house is clean?!" Pepper yelled, running frantically around the house straightening things up.  
  
"Pepper, calm down, the house is spotless," Piper said as Pepper came running into the kitchen.  
  
"I just want to make a good impression on him," Pepper explained to her aunt for the fifteenth time that week.  
  
"I know, Pep," Piper said, turning back to what she was cooking. Pepper moved on to another room, inspecting every corner.  
  
Pepper had been talking about and preparing for her god brother's visit for two weeks, wanting everything to be perfect for him. She'd been so busy with preparing menus for meals, planning outings when they weren't school shopping, and cleaning that she hadn't really thought about her parents in that two week span, which her aunts were very happy about.  
  
"What time did he say he was coming?" Phoebe asked, coming down the stairs.  
  
"Ten," Pepper answered.  
  
"Was that his time or ours?" Phoebe wondered. "Don't they have a different time zone in England?"  
  
"Our time, Aunt Phoebe," Pepper said in an 'are-you-trying-to-screw-up-my- perfect-plans?' voice.  
  
Phoebe sighed. "Oh, yes, of course," Phoebe said sarcastically.  
  
"Yea, Phoebe, how could you not know that?" Piper asked in a mock-astounded voice from the kitchen.  
  
"Haha, very funny you guys," Pepper said, rolling her eyes.  
  
"Well can you just call me when he gets here?" Phoebe asked. "I've got to go finish something."  
  
"Sure, Pheebs," Piper said. Phoebe retreated upstairs and Pepper surveyed the living room again.  
  
She saw a misplaced picture on the mantelpiece and went over to fix it when a loud noise came from the fireplace. Soot went everywhere as a boy came out of it and Pepper screamed briefly. The boy got up and brushed himself off. Pepper found herself looking at a sooty boy with slightly defined muscles, with a mop of messy hair about the same color as hers, emerald green eyes and glasses who was a bit taller than herself. "You must be Harry," she offered.  
  
"Yea, I'm Harry," the boy said, looking at her. "And you must be Pepper," Harry said with a smile.  
  
"Yea, I'm Pepper," Pepper responded. "You're not really what I expected," she said, cocking her head and smiling a bit.  
  
"Really," Harry said in his British accent, "you're not what I expected either."  
  
"Oh, really," Pepper said, righting her head with her eyebrows raised. "What did you expect then?"  
  
He wasn't expecting a girl almost as tall as he was with just-below-the- shoulder length ebony hair, dark, sparkling eyes, pale skin, and full curves, that's for sure, but he wasn't going to say that. Wasn't your godfather's daughter supposed to be a bit, maybe, geekier? Rounder? Not so pretty? Though, he supposed, she did look like Sirius a bit. "Oh, I dunno," he decided on saying. "I just said it because you did."  
  
She laughed, a light, airy laugh. "Aunt Piper, come meet Harry, he's arrived," she said loudly, looking at Harry and grimacing at his sooty state.  
  
A brown haired woman came from another room and into the living room, smiling when she saw Harry. "Hi, I'm Piper Halliwell, Pepper's aunt," Piper told Harry, offering her hand so he could shake it.  
  
He shook her hand with his dirty one. "Harry Potter," he said.  
  
"Aunt Piper, would it be a personal gain spell if I cleaned up Harry?" Pepper asked her aunt. Piper nodded and Pepper whined a bit.  
  
"Oh, no problem," Harry told them, whipping out a wand and saying a spell, cleaning up all the soot on him and the floor.  
  
"You mean you can just say spells at random, even if it's for personal gain?!" Pepper asked, fascinated.  
  
Harry nodded, a little confused. "I take it you can't," he said. Pepper shook her head, her hair flying back and forth.  
  
"Well I have to get back to the kitchen," Piper told them. "Would you like anything to drink Harry?"  
  
"No thanks, I'm fine," Harry said, feeling a bit uncomfortable. Piper went back into the kitchen, leaving Pepper and Harry alone again.  
  
"Oh! Harry, sit down!" Pepper said, getting back into hostess mood. "I'll go get my other aunts." Harry sat on the couch and watched as Pepper walked up a few of the stairs and yelled, "Aunt Phoebe! Aunt Paige! Come down here! Harry's arrived!" Harry saw another woman walk down the stairs, Pepper letting her pass to come in to the living room, Pepper in hot pursuit of her aunt. "Where's Aunt Paige?" Pepper asked the woman.  
  
"Still sleeping," the woman answered her.  
  
"And she calls me lazy ass," Pepper mumbled, bounding up the stairs.  
  
"Hi, Harry," the woman said, sitting in a chair across from him. "I'm Pepper's Aunt Phoebe."  
  
"Hi," Harry said.  
  
Phoebe looked towards the stairs. The two of them could hear Pepper yelling "Aunt PAIGE! Wake UP!"  
  
Phoebe looked amused. "She's something," she said, shaking her head slightly. "which I'm sure you'll find out soon enough."  
  
"I think I might already have," Harry said, causing Phoebe to laugh.  
  
"Don't tell her I told you this but she's been really excited, waiting for you to get here. She has all sorts of things planned for you guys to do." Harry smiled, looking a bit surprised and flattered. "She's been racing around and – " Phoebe stopped, seeing that Harry wasn't moving at all.  
  
"Ha!" She heard from the direction of the stairs. She looked that way and saw Paige walking down the stairs and Pepper standing there, looking triumphant. "I can freeze them!" she exclaimed, springing down the stairs. "Why are you telling him this, Aunt Phoebe? Just to embarrass me?" Pepper demanded. "That was really uncalled for!"  
  
"Sorry, Pepper," her aunt pouted, begging forgiveness.  
  
"As long as he doesn't go around telling the whole school I wanted to make a good impression...then I guess it's all right."  
  
"I'm going to the club, someone else can finish lunch," Piper announced, throwing her dishrag at Phoebe as she came out of the kitchen. She stopped before leaving, looking at Harry. "Pepper..." she warned.  
  
"Aunt Phoebe was telling him how excited I was about him coming and that I had stuff planned for us to do!" Pepper said in her own defense.  
  
"Just for that you can finish lunch, Phoebe," Piper scolded. "I'll see you guys tonight," she said, leaving.  
  
"Poor Harry's going to be so confused when you unfreeze him, Pep," Paige said. "Better do it now."  
  
"Ok," Pepper said, waving her hand and unfreezing Harry. He looked at them, furrowing his eyebrow, giving them an odd look.  
  
"I'm going to finish lunch," Phoebe announced, going to the kitchen.  
  
"Wha-what just happened?" Harry asked.  
  
"Well Harry," Pepper began, "Wait, before I say that I just want to tell you that I did all that stuff my aunt was telling you about to make a good first impression, so you wouldn't think I was a complete weirdo, or something."  
  
"Pepper, I think it's too late for that," Paige said. "You've already come across as a weirdo."  
  
Pepper made a face at her and continued explaining the freezing to Harry. "Anyway, I have the power to freeze, as does my Aunt Piper, who just left the room. It freezes everyone who isn't the type of witch my family and I are," she explained.  
  
Harry still looked confused but seemed to accept this answer.  
  
"I'll tell you more about it later," Pepper said. "Oh, this is my Aunt Paige, by the way, who's the lazy a-slug." It was Paige's turn to make a face at her niece.  
  
"I'm going to go help Phoebe, see you guys later. Pep, why don't you give Harry a tour of the house?" Paige suggested.  
  
"Alright, come on Harry," Pepper said. "Well, this is the living room," she emphasized the point by sweeping her arm out. "You might have to stand up for this... sorry ..." she said. Harry stood up, slightly embarrassed, as hid god sister led him up the stairs. "It's alright if I come across as weird, I think I am. And please tell me if I'm making you totally uncomfortable or something, I don't want to make a complete fool of myself, I want you to like me at least a little bit."  
  
Lunch was served after Pepper finished with the tour and Harry was being to feel more comfortable around Pepper, despite her imposing nature. She was handling the death of her parents well, he guessed. "I thought we could go to Diagon Alley after lunch," Harry ventured.  
  
"That sounds good," Pepper said. So, after lunch the two of them stood by the fireplace, Pepper looking apprehensive.  
  
Harry reached into a bag propped up against the fireplace ('I didn't see that come out with him,' she thought) and pulled out a drawstring pouch. He opened it and pulled out some of it to show Pepper. "Floo Powder," he explained. "You take a handful, throw it into the fireplace, step in the green flames and speak your destination very, very clearly. There's a ton of fireplaces on the Floo Network and you could end up somewhere you really don't want to be."  
  
"This doesn't sound very safe..." Pepper said.  
  
"It'll be fine as long as you speak clearly," Harry assured her. "Watch me and then follow what I do."  
  
"Wait! Don't I need money?" she asked, stalling for time.  
  
"The money you have won't do any good, you'll see what to do about it when we get there," he told her.  
  
She shrugged and took a deep breath, ready as she'd ever be for a journey by Floo Powder.  
  
"Alright, watch me. And remember to speak clearly," Harry reminded her.  
  
She nodded and watched as he reached into the bag, grabbing a handful of the powder then following the instructions he'd told her. She copied his every move.  
  
Pepper felt herself being spun around and around and different rooms being displayed in front of her until, finally, she fell out of a fireplace onto a hearth, landing on her face. She groaned and rolled over, seeing that Harry was standing above her, grinning. He gave her his hand and she took it, getting to her feet. He did the soot removal spell and she found herself free of any dirt. She looked around and said, "Where are we?" The room they were standing in was full of fireplaces and people were popping in and out of every one of them.  
  
"It's the Floo Room, in Diagon Alley. Come on, let's go outside," he said, leading her out of the building.  
  
She was amazed at what she saw. The street was lined with shops with strange things in the windows of each one. There were people dressed in some of the strangest outfits she'd ever seen walking up and down the street. "Wow," Pepper breathed. "Do you actually fly on broomsticks?" she asked, spotting a store with a broom in the display case.  
  
Harry laughed and nodded. "Your aunts said we had to be back by six so let's get going," he said. "First off, we have to go to Gringotts to get your money."  
  
"How do I have money in a place I've never even heard of?" Pepper asked, very surprised and still very amazed at her surroundings.  
  
"You'll see," Harry told her mysteriously.  
  
As they walked to Gringotts Pepper looked at as much as she could. She couldn't believe all of the strange wizardy things they sold in all of these shops. She also noticed most of the names were alliteration. "See, wizarding money is in Galleons, Sickles and Knuts. Galleons are the big gold coins and are worth the most, Sickles are silver and are the second most valuable and Knuts are brass and least valuable," he said, trying to explain. "Seventeen Sickles to a Galleon and twenty-nine Knuts to a Sickle."  
  
When they reached Gringotts, it took Pepper a second to take in its size and when they entered it took her another minute to realize something besides humans were working there. "Goblins?" she asked Harry.  
  
"Yea, they're bloody nasty ones, too," he answered. They walked up to a goblin that was studying some gems. Harry cleared his throat. "We'd like to go to two vaults please," he told the goblin.  
  
"Do you have your key, sir?" the goblin asked Harry.  
  
"I have mine," Harry told the goblin. "And..." he reached in his pocket and pulled out a piece of folded parchment. "...a letter signed by Professor Dumbledore and the Minister of Magic." He handed the goblin the paper. The goblin took a minute to read it then he reached under the counter he was sitting at, pulled out a metal box. He took one of the gems that was set aside from the others, placed it on top of the box and pushed it down. The box sprung open and the goblin pulled out a key.  
  
Another goblin led them to a door that seemed to lead out of the room. They went through the door into a stone passageway lined with torches. The goblin whistled and a cart, that reminded Pepper of a mine car, came speeding up the tracks toward them. The goblin climbed into the car and Harry and Pepper followed his lead. Pepper was surprised at the speed the car took off, she thought she might be sick. She grabbed Harry's arm tightly and he patted it reassuringly. As soon as she was getting used to the jerks and sharp turns, the cart stopped. They got out of the cart and the goblin took a lantern and led them to a large door.  
  
"Key please," the goblin said and Harry handed him his key. The goblin opened the door to reveal piles of coins. Harry quickly scooped up a pile of each different coin and shoved them into another smaller drawstring bag.  
  
They got back into the cart and it zoomed off again. "You have a lot of money, don't you!" Pepper yelled over the rambling of the cart.  
  
"Compared to the average wizard, yes!" he yelled back at her.  
  
The cart stopped again and they got out. "Key please," the goblin said again. Harry got out another key and handed it to the goblin.  
  
He then handed Pepper a bag like his. "I figured you wouldn't have anything to put your money in," he said to her.  
  
"Thanks," she said, though, she didn't think she'd need it. Compared to Harry's fortune she thought she'd only have a few scattered coins, after all, she didn't even know about this place, and she figured she's be able to fit all the coins in her small pockets.  
  
When the goblin opened the door she almost fainted. The fortune inside was even larger than Harry's, in fact; it was twice, maybe three times the size of Harry's. It almost filled the whole vault and most of it was those gold coins she couldn't remember the names of. She walked in shakily and grabbed two handfuls of each coin, figuring she'd find something to spend it on, even if it was a flying broomstick.  
  
After the vault was closed, the goblin asked her if she'd like to see her other vault. "O-Other vault?" she stuttered. "You mean I have a whole other vault filled like that?"  
  
"Would you like to see it?" the goblin repeated, obviously not too patient.  
  
She looked at Harry for help, but he just shrugged. "N-no thanks," she managed to say. They returned to the cart, she and Harry with full bags of money.  
  
"Why the hell do I have so much money?" Pepper asked Harry once they were walking on the street again. "I've never even heard of that place."  
  
"I s'pose your dad didn't tell you then," he said, smirking. "You're the last of the Black family line, one of the richest, oldest Pureblood lines there is."  
  
"Pureblood?" Pepper wanted to know.  
  
"Wizard always marrying witch, no Muggle blood in the family line."  
  
"What's a Muggle?" Pepper asked.  
  
"A non-magical person," Harry told her.  
  
"Oh my god, so I get the whole fortune just because I'm the last heir in the Black line?" Pepper said, not fully comprehending.  
  
Harry nodded.  
  
"This is so cool!" she cried. "I'm rich!"  
  
Harry laughed. "Well, rich girl, why don't we go get your wand?" Harry led Pepper to a shop called 'Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C. He opened the door for her and Pepper meandered inside. The shop was much, much smaller than Gringotts and it was pretty dark inside. Pepper didn't see anyone inside so she and Harry stood around for a second until an old man appeared from the back.  
  
"Afternoon," he said.  
  
Pepper was a bit creeped out by the man and beside her, she heard Harry say, "We're here for a wand for..."  
  
"Pepper Black," the man said, cutting Harry off.  
  
"I prefer Halliwell," Pepper told the man, who she guessed to be Mr. Ollivander.  
  
Mr. Ollivander chose to ignore her and continued, "I was wondering when I'd be seeing you." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a tape measurer. "Which is your wand arm?" he asked Pepper.  
  
"Um...my left?" Pepper answered, not quite sure, though she figured she was right because that's the hand she used to emit her powers. She hesitantly held it out, figuring he'd want to measure it.  
  
The tape measurer seemed to have a life of its own as it began measuring every limb on her body. Pepper was a bit shocked but stood still. As the tape measurer measured, Mr. Ollivander stood there looking thoughtful. When the measuring was finished, Mr. Ollivander went pointedly to a shelf and pulled down a box. "Try this one Miss Black, twelve inches long, ebony and phoenix feather, rather limber," he said, handing her the wand. "Just wave it around," he told Pepper when she didn't do anything with it.  
  
When she moved the wand she felt warmth in her hand. The wand shot out gold sparks and Pepper looked at Harry, horrified that she was doing something wrong, but he smiled at her. "This is the one," Mr. Ollivander said, taking the wand from her and placing it back in the box. "I knew that would be the one for you, Miss Black. Seven Galleons."  
  
She reached into her money pouch and handed the man seven golden coins, he, in exchange, gave her her wand. They left the store, entering the bustling street once again.  
  
"He's creepy," Pepper said, causing Harry to chuckle.  
  
"He gave me the same deal when I got my wand," Harry told her. "We should get your robes next," he said, taking her to 'Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions.' "I need some new robes too."  
  
They walked into the shop, a squat woman rushing to them at once. "New Hogwarts robes?" she asked. Not waiting for an answer, she stood them both on separate stools. A minute later, Pepper had robes being thrown over her head and the woman was adjusting and pinning them to fit her. Harry had the same thing being done to him on the stool next to her by a different woman...witch, wouldn't she be?  
  
"Why if it isn't Potter," she heard a drawling voice. Pepper looked around the shop to spot the owner of the voice and found he was in the back of the shop on another footstool. He was having robes pinned too.  
  
"Malfoy," Harry spat back at the boy.  
  
"And who's this?" Malfoy said with interest, directing the question at Pepper.  
  
"Pepper..." she began but didn't know whether to say, "Black" or "Halliwell." The wand man knew her as Black and Harry said it was the name of one of the richest most powerful families but maybe it wasn't too good to be known. "...Halliwell," she finished for Malfoy.  
  
"Friend of Potter's, are you?" he asked.  
  
She nodded. "He's showing me around, this will be my first year at Hogwarts."  
  
"You're done," Madam Malkin told Pepper, and she stepped down off the stool, followed by Harry.  
  
Paying the witch, she said, "See you at school, Malfoy," waggled her fingers flirtatiously at him and left the shop.  
  
"I can't believe you!" Harry laughed as they entered a shop to buy writing supplies. "He looked stunned!"  
  
"Well I figured you didn't like him," Pepper said, paying for her purchases, "and he sounded like he took an interest in me, before he found out I was your friend, so I decided to see if I could give him a little surprise." They walked back into the lane again, heading towards the bookshop.  
  
"That was brilliant," Harry said. "Oy! Ron! Hermione!" he called. He grabbed her hand and dragged her over to two people. They both turned around and smiled when they saw Harry approaching.  
  
The girl had somewhat bushy brown hair and was shorter than the boy who had red hair and freckles. "Harry!" the girl exclaimed rushing to him and giving him a hug. Pepper hung back while they were saying their hellos, feeling rather uncomfortable.  
  
"Nice to see you too, Hermione," Harry said.  
  
"Hey, Harry," the redheaded boy said.  
  
"Hi, Ron," Harry replied. "Oh, this is Pepper Halliwell, my god sister," Harry said, realizing Pepper was standing there. She stepped up and smiled.  
  
"Hi," Hermione said. "This is your first year at Hogwarts?"  
  
"Yes," Pepper said.  
  
"Where'd you go to school before?" Hermione went on.  
  
"I was home schooled...I guess I'm not the sort of witch you are, really," Pepper said hesitantly.  
  
"What do you mean?" Hermione asked.  
  
"Hermione, will you give me a bloody chance to say hello?" Ron asked Hermione.  
  
"Hold on, Ronald," Hermione said, dismissing him with a wave of her hand. "Please, go on, Pepper," she requested to Pepper as they went into the bookstore. The four of them walked into an isle and Hermione, Ron and Harry began scanning the shelves for their schoolbooks.  
  
"Well, like I have natural powers," Pepper said. "I was born with some powers and I use them to fight demons alongside my aunts. I can make potions and things and come up with spells, but it's mostly to vanquish the demons and I can't use them for personal gain."  
  
"That's fascinating," Hermione said, pulling two books from the shelf. She turned to Pepper. "What do you mean natural powers?"  
  
"Would you like me to show you one?" Pepper asked as they made their way on to another isle of books.  
  
Hermione nodded, wide eyed.  
  
"Alright," Pepper said, thinking of what she could show her. "Throw that book at me," she decided on, stepping back a few feet.  
  
"Throw this book at you?" Hermione asked a bit puzzled.  
  
Pepper nodded. "Throw it as hard as you can and then move out of the way," she instructed.  
  
Hermione threw it as hard as she could then stepped to the side. Pepper put her hands out in front of her and moved them forward a bit and as the book was about to hit her, it was deflected. Hermione picked the book from the ground, a stunned look on her face. "That was brilliant," she said appreciatively.  
  
Harry and Ron appeared in the isle alongside the two girls. "Don't you need to get your books?" Ron asked Pepper.  
  
She shook her head. "I've already got them. I've had them, actually, for five or six months now. Ron began to ask how she'd gotten them that early but Harry shook his head, knowing Sirius had given them to her.  
  
"Would you mind showing them what you showed me, Pepper?" Hermione asked. Pepper said she didn't mind so Hermione took the book and threw it at Pepper again. The boys almost said something to Hermione but then they saw that Pepper could deflect it.  
  
"Bloody hell," Ron said, flabbergasted. "Can do you anything else?"  
  
"Ron!" Harry and Hermione said at once.  
  
"She's not here to show off for you, Ron," Harry said.  
  
"I wouldn't mind showing you, but somewhere more private. Like at school?" she suggested. Ron mumbled an apology and something else that Pepper couldn't quite catch.  
  
After the three paid for their books, they went to the Apothecary for Potions supplies. "I'd like to go in there," Pepper said, pointing to a store across from the one they were in.  
  
"Do we have to?" Ron whined. Pepper didn't see what the problem was, but obviously Ron had one.  
  
"Oh come on Ron," Hermione said, grabbing his arm and dragging him into the shop. Behind the counter there were two boys that looked suspiciously like Ron.  
  
"Ronniekins just couldn't stay away from us George," one of them said.  
  
"He can't stand being away from us for too long," said the other one who Pepper suspected was George.  
  
"Shut it," Ron growled at them.  
  
"Pepper, this is Fred and George, guys, this is Pepper, my god sister," Harry introduced.  
  
"Toffee?" a twin asked her. Pepper was about to take it but she saw Harry, Ron and Hermione shaking their heads violently at her so she withdrew her hand.  
  
"What's wrong with it?" she wanted to know.  
  
"It's a Ton Tongue Toffee," Ron said. "Makes your tongue so big it can't fit in your mouth."  
  
"Brilliant invention, thank you very much," the other twin said. "First year at Hogwarts?" he asked her.  
  
"Yes, I'm starting the sixth year," Pepper told them. "We left last year," one said. Pepper then realized how to tell them apart – they had nametags on their shirts.  
  
"Walked out," George said.  
  
"Started this place thanks to Harry," Fred explained.  
  
"Have you been doing well?" Pepper asked them. They nodded.  
  
"Pepper, we have to go, your aunts said six and it's quarter of," Harry said, pulling her form the shop.  
  
"Nice to meet you!" she called back to the twins.  
  
"Bye!" they chorused. "Have fun at Hogwarts!"  
  
"Can we just stop in there real quick?" Pepper asked Harry as they passed the store with the broomsticks in the window.  
  
"Yea Harry, I want to see the new Chudley Cannons book anyway," Ron pleaded. They went into the store and everywhere Pepper saw the word "Quidditch."  
  
"What's Quidditch?" she asked. Ron looked like he was about to pass out before he launched into an explanation – that Quidditch was a sport played on broomsticks with four balls, (a Quaffle, two Bludgers and a Snitch), and there were seven players. Pepper tuned him out and turned her attention to a broom hanging on the wall. "Moonbeam Five Hundred," she read and wanted to read more but Harry pulled her from the shop.  
  
"It's six," he said. "By Hermione, Ron, see you soon!" he yelled back at them. 


	4. Chapter 3: Break A Groove

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
Chapter 3  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
"That was so COOL!" Pepper gushed when they were back at her house.  
  
"Tell us in the car, we have to go, Piper's expecting us in ten minutes," Phoebe said.  
  
"I'm driving!" Pepper exclaimed, running upstairs to retrieve her car keys. She came back down the stairs and flew out the front door, yelling "Come on!"  
  
"Harry, would you like to sit in the front?" Paige asked.  
  
Harry shrugged. "Sure," he said. "I like this car," he complimented once they were on the road.  
  
"Thanks," Pepper said. "But, oh my god, you guys won't believe this, I'm rich!" Pepper told her aunts. "We went to this bank run by goblins and went in this cart and I have two vaults full of wizarding money!"  
  
"How are you rich?" Paige asked. "Watch the road!" she warned, as Pepper almost hit a car.  
  
"Harry will you tell them? I have to watch the road," she mocked her aunt. So Harry told them about her being the last heir in the Black line.  
  
"It's so cool!" Pepper repeated. "And you won't believe this! I have a magic WAND! And they actually fly on broomsticks, too! There's this game that's played called Quidditch and - "  
  
"Watch the ROAD!" Paige said again.  
  
"Fine! Harry, explain Quidditch?" Harry went over a basic version of Quidditch. "And there was this broom that was awesome! It was called the..."  
  
"Moonbeam Five Hundred," Harry finished for his god sister. "Best broom out there, cost a bloody fortune, though."  
  
"But it's so awesome! I'd really like one and I have a fortune, right?" Pepper pointed out, wanting to prove she deserved the broom.  
  
"Pepper, I think you should wait to get a broom until you know if you can fly it or not," Harry said. "There are loads of people who don't like flying."  
  
"But if I do like it then I might regret it if I don't get it. And if I don't like it then I can mount it on the wall over my bed or something because it's so cool!"  
  
"Not many people get to fly at Hogwarts, it's really only if you're on a Quidditch team."  
  
"Are you on the team?"  
  
"A team, yea," Harry answered.  
  
"Well I want to know more later, for now we're HERE!" Pepper cried, turning off the car and getting out. "Welcome to P3," Pepper said, welcoming Harry into her aunt's club.  
  
Harry had never been to a club before but welcomed the mobs of people, faint smell of alcohol and loud music. They saw Piper at the bar and she beckoned them over. The four Halliwells sat on the barstools so Harry sat down too.  
  
"How was school shopping?" Piper asked.  
  
"Brilliant," Pepper answered, trying out a British word she'd picked up from Harry and his friends. "And to celebrate my new fortune I'd like a gin and tonic on the rocks with a twist of lime please...wait a gin and tonic already has lime in it, doesn't it?"  
  
"You can drink?" Harry asked, astounded.  
  
"Very funny," Piper said, answering Harry's question. "Wait, what do you mean 'new fortune?'"  
  
"I'm rich! In wizard-world money." Pepper squeaked. "Last heir in the Black family line."  
  
"One of the richest most powerful Pureblooded wizarding lines," Phoebe supplied, repeating what Harry had told her in the car.  
  
"Pureblood meaning, of course, wizard marrying witch, no Muggle blood in the family line at all," Paige added.  
  
"A Muggle being a non-magical person," Harry finished.  
  
Piper raised her eyebrow.  
  
"Can I have a ginger ale, please?" Pepper asked Piper. "Harry, would you like something?"  
  
"I'll have the same, thanks," he said. That was the second new thing for Harry that night – ginger ale. He found he liked it though, and had two more glasses.  
  
"Can we take a table, Piper?" Paige asked her sister. "So we can get some food – I'm starving."  
  
"Sure," Piper said. "Take any one you want."  
  
They chose their usual booth and waited for a waiter to come by. Harry looked at the menu, which he found was on the table, protected by a sheet of plastic.  
  
"Does anyone know when Harry can meet Uncle Leo?" Pepper asked her aunts. "He dropped by today and said he'd meet Harry sometime tomorrow morning," Phoebe said.  
  
"Care to tell us more about Diagon Alley? That is what it's called, isn't it?" Paige asked them.  
  
"Yea, that's what it's called," said Pepper. "Well I met Harry's friends, and I really like them. The one, Hermione, the way Harry and the other one, Ron, tease her, it seems she's as into reading and learning and studying stuff as I am."  
  
"You like to study and learn, too?" Harry moaned. "Oh no, not another Hermione!" he joked.  
  
The three girls at the table laughed. "You wouldn't believe this girl, Harry," Phoebe said. "She decided to read all the textbooks you've gotten years one through six at least three times each in the last six months."  
  
"You'd really give Hermione a run for her money, then," he decided.  
  
"I don't like the studying so much as the reading. Anyway, I just want to be prepared. Ooh, maybe they could come tomorrow and stay the night so we could all go to the train station together?" Pepper suggested, acting if it was the best idea in the world. "If it's all right with their parents and Harry, that is," she added.  
  
"That could be a possibility," Phoebe said. "As long as you don't have wild sex or anything."  
  
Pepper blushed and said, "Coming from the aunt who wondered if I got a vibrator for my birthday."  
  
Harry began choking on his ginger ale, much like Pepper had done, and Pepper pat him on the back. "Does vibrator mean the same thing here?" Harry asked.  
  
"I think so (A/N: Does it?)," Pepper answered. Harry began coughing again. "Sorry Harry, I didn't know you'd go into a coughing fit," Pepper apologized, hitting his back again. "And you're probably really scared of my Aunt Phoebe now, aren't you?"  
  
"A bit," he answered, composing himself.  
  
"Oh well, now you know her true nature," Pepper teased. Their food came and the vibrator was dropped.  
  
"More about your adventure?" Paige prompted.  
  
"Oh, I also met one of Harry's enemies."  
  
"Gave him a bit of a fright," Harry said, recalling the situation.  
  
"He was rather rude, but quite good looking," Pepper admitted.  
  
Harry nearly choked again. "You think Malfoy's good looking?!" he cried.  
  
"Well, yes," Pepper said. "Anyhow, isn't that like, a rule or something: that all enemies are good looking. Don't you have a girl enemy?"  
  
"Um...not really..." Harry responded hesitantly.  
  
"Well if you did she'd be good looking," Pepper replied confidently, sipping at her own ginger ale. "That's your goal this year, to find a good looking girl enemy."  
  
"Pepper, you're encouraging him to make enemies," Paige pointed out to her.  
  
"Yes, I know," Pepper said. "But he needs a hot woman enemy he can pretend to hate but secretly lust for."  
  
"Pepper, I think you'd better bring your head back down to earth where Harry's about to make you his enemy," Phoebe said.  
  
"Eww!" Pepper exclaimed. "He can't secretly lust for me, especially because I now know he's going to do it."  
  
"Can I hit her?" Harry asked Phoebe and Paige.  
  
"Please," Phoebe said. Harry smacked Pepper lightly on the back of the head, her hand flying to it immediately and rubbing the spot where he'd hit.  
  
"Oww, that wasn't very nice," Pepper pouted.  
  
"Pep, you're a bit too excited, calm down a little and finish your chicken," Paige said.  
  
"Yes ma'am," Pepper said. "Just so you know, Harry, I'm not normally this...um...frightening? Imposing? Whatever you think I might be." She paused for a minute. "Hey Harry, do you want to go dance?" she asked suddenly.  
  
"I'm not much of a dancer," Harry said. The only time he'd really danced was two years ago at the Yule Ball, and it wasn't to this type of music.  
  
"I'm not good at it but I do it anyway, come on, I'm sure you'll be great," she said, pulling him out of his seat. "Coming?" she asked her aunts. She shrugged and led a reluctant Harry onto the dance floor. "I can't really tell you how to do it," she said, her hips beginning to sway with the music, "cos you'd look pretty strange dancing like a girl...all I can tell you is to go with the music. You have to be apart of it, sorta. Just feel it and you'll be fine."  
  
Harry started moving to the music but he felt foolish and stopped. "Keep going," Pepper prompted. "You're getting the hang of it." He began dancing again, Pepper nodding her head. He looked around at what other guys were doing and tried to copy them.  
  
"If you're not good then I must be a disaster!" he yelled to her over the music. "I think you're really excellent!" he complimented, and he really thought so. She really did seem to feel the music, as she'd said to do.  
  
"Thanks!" she yelled back. "You're not so bad yourself!" A new song came on and she screamed, "I love this song!" She began dancing very smoothly to the song, her hands going above her head at intervals of the song, her shoulders shimming at some points, her body moving up, down and side to side and her hips rotating rhythmically. She was mouthing the words, too, and her movements mesmerized Harry for a second, before she took his hands and began moving his arms to the music. "Dance!" she shouted at him and he began to move again, with her still holding his hands. She led him a bit using his arms and he discovered that song was the best he'd ever danced, with her leading him. When the song was over, she asked if he'd like to sit down and he nodded.  
  
They sat down at the table, both out of breath and hot. Pepper grabbed Paige's water glass and downed the rest of the water in it. "Nice moves, Harry," Phoebe praised.  
  
Harry blushed, not knowing he was being watched and said, "I need work, I don't dance all that much."  
  
"We can come back tomorrow night if you'd like," Pepper said, and Harry said that he'd like that.  
  
"We talked to Piper and she said it would be fine if Ron and Hermione stayed over tomorrow," Paige announced.  
  
"That's okay with you, Harry?" Pepper asked.  
  
"Of course," Harry said and Pepper smiled. "They're both staying at Ron's house, so if his mother says it's all right then it'll be settled. I can Floo him as soon as we get back." Pepper looked puzzled but Harry just told her she'd see later.  
  
"Speaking of leaving, we should do just that, it's getting late," Phoebe said, looking at her watch.  
  
As soon as they arrived at the Manor, Harry pulled a piece of parchment and a quill out of his bag and scrawled a quick note to Ron. Then he took some of the Floo Powder, threw the letter into the emerald flames and yelled "Weasley House!" The letter disappeared a second later, as did the flames. Harry leaned back in the armchair he was sitting in and announced, "Now, we wait for his answer."  
  
"I'm going upstairs to get our bed things," Pepper said. When she returned Harry was still in the armchair, reading a letter.  
  
"He's replied," Harry said. "Says they can come, and if we'd like to stop by for lunch we can do that. His parents would like to meet you."  
  
"Sounds good to me, let me go clear it with my aunts." After Phoebe said it was okay, they changed into their pajamas, and then they settled down in the living room with mugs of hot chocolate, only one light on, talking.  
  
"Did you have a good time today?" Pepper asked Harry.  
  
"Great time," he said.  
  
"Like the club?"  
  
He nodded. "And the dancing lessons, thanks. Is that place your aunt's?"  
  
"Yea," Pepper said proudly. You're welcome for the lessons, by the way. I didn't do much, though."  
  
"Yes you did. And you shouldn't criticize yourself like you did, you're the best dancer I've ever seen." She said thank you through flushed cheeks. "Did you have a good time today?" he asked, already suspecting the answer.  
  
"A wonderful day," she answered. "I can't wait to go to school, though some of your British-ness will have to rub off on me so I can talk the talk and walk the walk."  
  
They talked a lot more before Pepper said hesitantly, "If you don't mind me asking, where'd you get that scar?"  
  
"I don't mind," Harry said. "See, it was nice today, meeting you, and you not going 'Blimey! It's Harry Potter!,' well, you sort of did but not because I was Harry Potter, because you've been waiting to see me for a while and you were excited."  
  
"You mean people know who you are in your world?"  
  
Harry nodded. "I've been famous since I was a baby, before I even knew who I was. That man, Voldemort, he killed my parents sixteen years ago, and he tried to kill me but all he gave me was this scar. I was the only one to ever defeat him and I was only a baby. So he weakened and ran off into hiding and I became famous. I was dumped on my aunt and uncle's doorstep, they're Muggles by the way, and for eleven years I lived there, not even knowing I was a wizard or that wizards existed until I got a letter from Hogwarts."  
  
"So you've got an evil scar, then?" Pepper asked.  
  
"Sort of. I mean, it alerts me when he's near or he's going to attack or something: it burns until I can't see," he said with a slight laugh.  
  
"So we have two things in common; both our parents are dead and we both have scars," she said solemnly, pushing up the sleeves of her nightshirt to reveal the scars that were still on her arms.  
  
"Do you mind if I ask about yours?" he asked her.  
  
She shook her head. "I'm afraid I don't have such an elaborate story as yours," she said, not really looking at him. Then her eyes drifted down to his. "Suicide attempt," she said briskly. "After my parents died, I-I just wanted to give up." Tears sprung to her eyes and Harry battled whether or not to go comfort her.  
  
"I understand," he settled on saying as comfort. "I've thought about it too, more than once. It's just like your life comes crashing down on you, you've nothing to live for..."  
  
"And you want to just say 'hell with it, I'd be better off dead'..." They were both silent for a while until Pepper said. "While we're on a grim subject, would you mind talking about dad- I mean, Sirius, I'd really like to know what you knew about him and what happened, exactly."  
  
The two had a long conversation about Sirius Black, which led both of them to tears. Then they moved on to subjects a bit lighter like Hogwarts, what exactly the Halliwells did, both Pepper and Harry's magical abilities and Ron and Hermione. By the time they fell asleep it was four in the morning, Harry was sprawled out in an armchair and Pepper was sitting on the floor, a blanket wrapped around her. 


	5. Chapter 4: Weasleys and Demons

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
Chapter 4  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
Harry awoke to the droning sound of the television. "Good morning," Phoebe said from the couch across from him.  
  
"Morning," he grumbled. Pepper was still asleep in the same position on the floor. He stretched.  
  
"Would you like anything to eat?" she asked.  
  
"No thanks," said Harry, fully awake.  
  
"What did you and Pepper do last night, anyway?"  
  
"Talked...a lot," Harry said. "She wanted to know everything about Hogwarts and I was pretty interested in what you guys do, too. We were up pretty late. Do you know what time it is?"  
  
Phoebe glanced at the Grandfather clock behind Harry. "Ten o' clock," she answered.  
  
"I slept late," said Harry to himself.  
  
"What time do you catch the train tomorrow?"  
  
"Eleven. My friend Ron's family offered to take us, if we Floo over there tomorrow morning then they can drive us there. Oh, but you wanted to be there, didn't you?" Harry realized. "I'll ask if you can come, too, then. Speaking of the Weasley's, we have to be over there in thirty minutes."  
  
"I thought you were going at noon," Phoebe said.  
  
"Noon over there," Harry pointed out. (A/N: I don't know the real time difference, I suspect it's a lot larger than an hour and a half, but that's all right.)  
  
"Oh, right. Well then, I guess I'll wake up Pepper, even though I like her better when she's sleeping, " Phoebe laughed a little. She leaned down to the foot of the couch where Pepper was leaning and shook her. When that didn't work she tickled her neck, which only caused Pepper to move her head. Then Phoebe pushed her niece over.  
  
"Lemme alone," Pepper groaned. "I'm making out with Chad Michel Murray..."  
  
Harry chuckled. Pepper's eyes shot open and her cheeks became pink when she saw Harry was there. "Oh...Harry...good morning..." she squeaked out.  
  
"We have to leave in thirty minutes," Harry told her.  
  
"Oh, I'll go get changed then..." Pepper said, dashing up the stairs.  
  
"She doesn't have to be embarrassed," Harry said. "I have dreams like that all the time. Well, I'll go get dressed."  
  
Thirty minutes later Harry and Pepper were, once again, standing at the fireplace, but this time the only thing Pepper had to be nervous about was meeting the Weasleys. She was dressed to impress them in a long flowing skirt and a tight sleeveless top with stars on it and her hair done up in a loose, casual bun. "You're a bit dressed up," Harry said.  
  
"I want to make a good impression," Pepper said. "You should know by now I like to do that." She smiled. He shrugged and threw power into the fire, yelling his destination and disappearing. "Bye!" she called to her aunts as she jumped in the fire after Harry, yelling, "Weasley House!"  
  
Harry helped her up from the hearth and she stood, finding she was not covered in soot. "Hi, Pepper," Ron said. "Mione do you want to take Pepper to meet Mum, I've got to have a word with Harry."  
  
Hermione took Pepper's hand and led her through a room (Pepper guessed it to be the dining room because there was a table and chairs) and into the kitchen where a red haired woman was bustling around, surrounded by pots and pans and knives doing things themselves. "Mrs. Weasley," Hermione said, getting the woman's attention. "This is Pepper Halliwell, Pepper, Mrs. Weasley."  
  
Mrs. Weasley had a large smile on her face. "Nice to meet you, Pepper," she said.  
  
"Likewise," Pepper answered.  
  
"You're just in time, lunch is ready," she announced. "We're eating in the garden, afterwards Ron and Hermione can give you a tour." They followed her out into the garden where there were two long tables set up. There were already a bunch of redheads sitting at the table and the one Pepper expected to be the father saw her and Hermione there, so he got up and walked over to them.  
  
"Pepper, Mr. Weasley, Mr. Weasley, Pepper Halliwell," Hermione introduced.  
  
"Halliwell-Black, isn't it?" Mr. Weasley asked.  
  
"Yes..." Pepper said. "How'd you know?"  
  
"I work for the Ministry of Magic," Mr. Weasley explained quickly. "Do you know what that is?"  
  
Pepper nodded, Harry had explained it to her last night. "Well," he continued, "it's always news when there's a new student at Hogwarts, and you're the last heir in the Black line, so there was some talk." But by the nervous look on his face, Pepper suspected it was more than that.  
  
Throughout the delicious meal, Pepper met the rest of the Weasleys that she didn't already know – Bill, Charlie, and Ginny, and it was explained to her by a whisper in her ear from Ron that he had another brother – Percy – but he'd had a row with the family so he wasn't here. Pepper had to ask what "row" meant. She asked Fred and George more about their joke shop and they were happy to tell her about their products and their ideas for more of them. Then she and Hermione had an engaging conversation about a Muggle book they'd both recently read.  
  
After lunch, she got the tour she'd been promised. She found the Weasleys' house (a.k.a. the Burrow) was very interesting and she'd probably have great fun exploring it if she had the chance. At three o' clock they said their good byes and their see you tomorrow's and Flooed back to Pepper's house.  
  
She introduced them to her aunts, and Piper said, sorry, she had to run. Pepper was in the middle of asking Phoebe if they could go see a movie when fragments of blue light entered the room and Leo appeared.  
  
"Uncle Leo, finally!" Pepper said. "This is – "  
  
"H-how – what?" Ron stammered.  
  
"Sorry, no time," Leo said quickly. "Is everyone here?" he asked.  
  
"No," Pepper supplied. "Aunt Piper just went to the club."  
  
"That's not good," he said. "There's a demon headed this way. Where's Paige?"  
  
"Upstairs," Phoebe said. She called her sister down.  
  
"You're going to have to stall this thing until we can get Piper here," Leo said. "You'll need the Power of Three to defeat this."  
  
Harry, Ron and Hermione stood there, extremely confused.  
  
"It's powerful?" Phoebe asked. "Do you know what it is?"  
  
"I don't know what it is, no, but it is pretty powerful," Leo said. "Pepper, call Piper," he ordered, and Pepper went into the kitchen to call her aunt. "Nothing you can't defeat, of course," he assured them.  
  
"She's not picking up her cell or at the club," Pepper said, returning to the living room.  
  
"Damn," Leo muttered.  
  
"Can I be the third?" Pepper asked hopefully.  
  
"It might work," Leo said, "though you've never done it before. Okay, when it gets here Pepper and Paige hold it off, Phoebe you get a look at it and go get the vanquishing spell or potion from the Book of Shadows. Now I have to go," he said, and disappeared.  
  
"He didn't even tell us when it was coming," Phoebe said worriedly. Just then, the door was kicked in and a pointy-faced demon burst in. "But I'd say now! Freeze him!"  
  
Pepper waved her hand and the demon froze.  
  
"I don't know how long that'll hold him, you three hide, get going Phoebe," Paige instructed. "One of you, if you're not going to move, will you at least go try Piper again? The numbers are by the phone, clearly marked, we need her to blow this thing up."  
  
The demon unfroze and Pepper froze him again. "Come on! Will you do what Aunt Paige said, please? He won't hold much longer!"  
  
Harry ran into the kitchen to call and Ron ducked behind the couch but Hermione stayed where she was. "I can help!" she said. "I can throw spells at it."  
  
"Hermione, we don't know how dangerous it is, just hide!" Pepper said as the demon unfroze again, throwing what looked like a mini beam of lightning at them. Paige orbed it to herself and threw it back at the demon. The lightning hit the demon but it didn't do any good.  
  
The demon, spotting a defenseless Hermione, threw one at her, but Pepper used the power passed on to her by her mother, and threw it out of the way. "Hermione, move!"  
  
"She's on her way!" Harry yelled at them from the kitchen.  
  
"Stay where you are, Harry!" Pepper told him. Paige orbed herself behind the demon and kicked him down. Pepper froze him again. "Move!" But Hermione refused to move; instead when the demon unfroze again she whipped out her wand and began throwing spells at it, just like she said she'd do.  
  
It didn't hurt the demon, just hindered it a bit so Pepper and Paige could throw things at it and Phoebe could come down the stairs yelling, "I've got it! It's just a spell! Freeze it, Pep!" Pepper froze it once again and Phoebe ran to her aunt and her niece, shoving the paper from the Book of Shadows in their faces. As soon as the demon began throwing things at them and advancing towards them they recited the spell, but it didn't do anything. Hermione began her spell throwing at it again to stall for time while the Halliwells realized it didn't work and began fighting again.  
  
The demon rushed towards them and knocked Pepper aside with his hand. She went flying into the wall and was knocked unconscious. Hermione stopped and went to see if she was okay when the demon hit her with a lightning bolt thing. She flew into the wall, too, and landed on top of Pepper, not quite unconscious. Ron couldn't take it anymore, he jumped out from behind the couch and started tossing spells at the demon, though he didn't know nearly as many as Hermione did. The demon threw Phoebe aside, too, and Paige was orbing around the room so she wouldn't get hit. When the demon realized it was being hit from a different direction, it advanced on Ron, but before it could reach him Piper came through the door and tried to blow the demon up, which merely knocked it off its feet.  
  
Phoebe managed to get up and went over to her sisters with the spell in hand. The three sisters chanted the vanquishing spell and the demon vanished with a scream. Ron nearly fainted but, instead, went over to Hermione.  
  
"Harry," he yelled, "Get out here!"  
  
Harry emerged from the kitchen, and upon seeing Pepper and Hermione lying on the floor, hurried over to them. Phoebe, Paige and Piper leaned over Harry and Ron, trying to see if their niece and her new friend were all right. Ron tried rolling Hermione off of Pepper and Hermione groaned.  
  
"Hermione?" said Ron. She groaned again.  
  
Harry shook Pepper to see if she was awake. He got no answer from her. "Pepper?" he said.  
  
"She's unconscious," Phoebe said. "Let's get her to the couch." Harry picked her up and brought her into the living room, Phoebe and Piper following, (Ron and Paige stayed with Hermione), and placed her on the couch.  
  
"Are you sure she's just unconscious?" Harry asked anxiously.  
  
"Yes, it isn't the first time this has happened," Phoebe reassured him. Paige and Ron helped Hermione into the living room and sat her in a chair.  
  
"Is she alright?" Hermione asked, rubbing her head.  
  
"I think so," Piper said, coming back from the kitchen with a wet paper towel and placing it on her niece's forehead. "She'll wake up."  
  
The next forty-five minutes were spent waiting for just that to happen. Piper only stayed for fifteen, however, because Phoebe and Paige convinced her to go back to the club. The other five of them were too concerned to do anything else but wait.  
  
When she stirred and groaned as Hermione had Paige rushed and got a glass of water. Phoebe helped her niece sit up and answered her when she asked what happened. Paige handed Pepper the water and she sipped it slowly. "I think I'm okay," she said, finishing the water and placing the glass on the table. She looked round at the other people sitting in the room. "Have you been waiting for me all this time?" she asked. They nodded. "Oh, I'm sorry," she said. "How long have I been out?"  
  
"Forty five minutes," Phoebe said.  
  
"Geez, you guys could have gone and done something," Pepper said. "Hermione, thanks for helping, by the way," she added, not knowing Paige had already said something to Hermione.  
  
"No problem," said Hermione. "That was fascinating, actually. I've never seen a demon before, come to that, I didn't even know they existed."  
  
"Well, we've got to go and do something now, can't just sit around here forever. How about a movie?" Pepper half asked her aunts and half asked her new friends.  
  
"Sure," Harry said and Hermione and Ron nodded, though Ron looked a little confused.  
  
When she saw Paige and Piper hesitate she said, somewhat sarcastically, "I'm fine to drive, and then we'll go straight to the club where Aunt Piper can look after us. Please?"  
  
"Okay," Paige gave in. "Have fun."  
  
Back to her energetic self, Pepper grabbed her car keys from the key rack, beckoning for Harry, Ron and Hermione to follow, and hurried out the door, into her car. Hermione sat in the front seat, Ron and Harry in the back. "What's a movie?" Ron asked.  
  
"What's a movie?" Pepper repeated, shocked that he didn't know what a movie was.  
  
"Ron grew up surrounded by wizards," Hermione explained, "A movie, Ronald, is a sequence of filmed pictures giving the illusion of continuous movement put onto film."  
  
The three other occupants of the car were stunned for a moment before Ron said, "You sound like a bloody dictionary, Hermione."  
  
"Yes, well, you asked and I didn't know how else to put it," Hermione said, going pink.  
  
"Oh, Hermione, I meant to ask you something," Pepper said. "Do you think...oh, what's his name, Harry...that boy yesterday in the robe shop...?"  
  
"Malfoy," Harry said with disgust. "Hermione, you wouldn't believe this, Pepper thinks Malfoy's good looking."  
  
Ron snorted. "Malfoy?" he said with as much hate and disgust as Harry had.  
  
"Yes, him," Pepper said bravely. "Don't you think he's good looking, Hermione?"  
  
"Well, um..." Hermione stammered.  
  
"Don't tell me you agree with her, Hermione," Ron said, not believing what he was hearing.  
  
"You can't be serious..." Harry goggled.  
  
"Well, um..." Hermione repeated.  
  
"Come on Hermione, just say what you think," Pepper prompted her.  
  
"He has got great hair," Hermione finally said. "Though he's a bloody great git," she added quickly.  
  
"I fully agree," Pepper said smugly. "And if you guys were girls you'd think so, too."  
  
"Yea right," Ron mumbled as Pepper pulled into the movie theater's parking lot.  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
A/N: I know my demoning thing may be a bit wrong because I don't really think Leo would orb down and TELL them a demon was coming, but I didn't know how else to do that. So I'll take any suggestions for a way to do it better.... 


	6. Chapter 5: Are They A Couple?

!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
Chapter 5  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
"That was a good movie," Hermione said, finishing up her drink as they came out of the building and went back into the car.  
  
"Yes it was," Pepper agreed, sticking the key in the ignition.  
  
"Not enough action," Ron said.  
  
"Ron, it was your first movie, you're supposed to appreciate things like that," Harry told him.  
  
"Hey Pepper," said Ron, changing the subject, "How did your uncle do that thing earlier? When he came in by that blue stuff."  
  
"Your Aunt Paige was doing it, too, wasn't she? Moving herself and objects around that way," Hermione said.  
  
"Yea," Pepper said, impressed that Hermione noticed. "I can't really tell you how Ron, but it's called orbing. You move from one place to another by disappearing in that blue stuff and reappearing in it."  
  
"But your aunt was already there, your uncle just came out of nowhere," Ron said, still not getting his answer.  
  
"He's this thing called a Whitelighter. It's a person, well, it's a dead person, sort of, well, my Uncle Leo was in a war a while ago and I guess he died then he got this option to become a Whitelighter, so it's a dead person that's brought back to life in a way...anyway they protect witches. I don't know how many, that's top-secret information, but there's one Whitelighter to so many witches. They watch over and protect and warn, I guess," Pepper explained.  
  
"Isn't he married to one of your aunts, though?" Hermione asked.  
  
"Yea, my Aunt Piper. I'm not really sure how it all works," Pepper said with a shrug, suddenly wishing she did know how it all worked so she could show off for them. "Hey, we're here. Speaking of my Aunt Piper, this is her club, too."  
  
They got out of the car and entered P3, and they were suddenly hit with a wave of music. "Drinks then dancing!" Pepper exclaimed as she walked over to the bar. "Hey, Aunt Piper," she said as she saw her aunt.  
  
Piper came over to them and asked if they wanted anything to drink.  
  
"I feel bad," Hermione said. "All this money you're spending on me."  
  
"Oh, it's no problem," Pepper said. "I'm sure my Aunt Piper will give them to us on the house, as a going away present."  
  
"Sure, anything for my favorite niece," Piper said sarcastically but with a smile.  
  
"But I'm only your favorite niece because I'm your only niece, right?" Pepper said.  
  
"You bet," Piper answered. "What would you guys like, they are on the house," Piper guaranteed them.  
  
"Thanks," Hermione said softly.  
  
Pepper and Harry ordered ginger ales, Hermione got a lemonade and since Ron didn't know any of the soft drinks on the menu Harry persuaded him to get a ginger ale as well.  
  
"So are you guys having a good time, then?" Pepper asked the three hopefully. They all nodded, unable to speak because of the straws in their mouths. "Well it's about to get better," she said. "Let's go dance."  
  
"She's brilliant," Harry said. "Best dancer I've ever seen."  
  
"Nonsense," Pepper shook her head, "I suck, though I owe Harry another lesson, so let's go." Harry followed her willingly, as did Hermione but Ron not so much.  
  
"Oh come on Ron," Hermione pleaded. "It'll be fun."  
  
"I don't dance," he said stubbornly.  
  
"Well you will, come on." She grabbed her wrist and pulled him along behind Pepper and Harry to a spot on the dance floor. Pepper, she saw, began moving to the beat immediately, swaying her hips and raising her arms. She agreed with Harry, Pepper was a brilliant dancer, she just didn't know it. Or maybe she did know and was just fishing for compliments. Hermione had observed that she was a mite cocky. Hermione began moving her hips too, though she didn't think she was nearly as good as Pepper. Hermione saw that Harry was dancing also, however robotic.  
  
"Dance Ron," Pepper instructed.  
  
"I don't dance," he responded.  
  
"Sure you do," she said, picking up his hands and moving them. The rest of Ron's body refused to move.  
  
"Do you dance, Hermione?" Pepper asked her, still dancing with Ron's hands.  
  
"Yea, but I'm not very good," Hermione said, dancing a bit more subtly since Pepper was paying attention to her.  
  
"Well that makes two of us," Pepper smiled, letting Ron's wrists go and moving towards Hermione. She danced gracefully in front of the other girl, encouraging Hermione with her eyes. Hermione got more courage and tried copying some of what Pepper was doing.  
  
"How do you do that?" she yelled at Pepper over the music. "That thing with your hips," she specified.  
  
"You've got to, oh, I don't know, sort of pop them out of the sockets, remove them from the rest of your body. That way they go smoothly," Pepper explained.  
  
Hermione tried it, looking at her hips as she did. "Bend your knees," Pepper advised. Hermione did and saw there was a difference in the way she moved. "There! You're doing it!" She took hold of one of Hermione's hands and Hermione took Pepper's other hand so that they were wrist-to- wrist, fingers entwined and began to dance. Their hands were up above their heads, hips moving to the song, Pepper was biting her bottom lip and her eyes were closed. Hermione laughed suddenly, she felt so carefree and good.  
  
They danced like that for two songs, their bodies synchronized, both now biting their lip in concentration. "You're really brilliant!" Hermione yelled at Pepper.  
  
"Thanks," Pepper said. "Right back at you!"  
  
When a slower paced song came on they both dropped hands simultaneously and Pepper said she'd be right back and made her way through the crowd towards the stage.  
  
She got up on stage and went over to the DJ to request a song before fighting back through the mass of people to get back to Harry, Ron and Hermione. "What about my lesson?" Harry asked her.  
  
"You're doing great on your own, Harry!" she told him. "But I requested the song that came on last night..." Just as she said that the song began to play and she took Harry's hands as she had before and danced with him.  
  
"Ron!" they heard Hermione whine. "Dance!"  
  
"No," came Ron's stubborn answer.  
  
"Are they a couple?" Pepper asked Harry quietly.  
  
Harry burst out laughing. "Ron wishes," he said. "Hermione might, too. Neither knows how the other feels yet."  
  
"Well I think they should be a couple, then, if they like each other," Pepper said.  
  
"Pepper," Harry began warningly, "don't mess with their relationship, it's already screwed enough."  
  
"Fine, but I'm going to work on Ron's dancing," she said, letting Harry's hands dance on their own accord. "Hey, Ron," Pepper said, dancing next to Hermione, who was still unsuccessfully trying to get Ron to dance. "Dance, man!" she pressed. She twirled around him, her gauze skirt billowing out. "This is the best song in the universe, don't waste it!" She danced around him, singing the words, trying to get him to move at least a little bit.  
  
When the song ended, Hermione said she wanted to get something to drink, so the four of them went back to the bar, plopping heavily into the stools, (Harry, Pepper and Hermione from fatigue and Ron from stubbornness). "Waters please," Pepper requested to the man behind the bar and found when he turned around that he was her Uncle Leo.  
  
"Hey," Leo said.  
  
"Hey," Pepper smiled.  
  
"You okay, kid? I heard you got knocked unconscious by that Doguo this afternoon."  
  
"Yea, I'm fine. Oh, now you can meet my friends," Pepper realized. "This is Ron, Hermione and my god brother Harry."  
  
"Hello, nice to meet you all," Leo said as he slid their waters to them along the bar top. "So you're all heading off to school tomorrow?" he asked as he cleaned the bar from empty glasses and beer bottles.  
  
"Yes," Hermione said, taking a gulp from her glass. "I can't wait; Hogwarts is the best place in the world."  
  
"Sure is," Harry agreed with her, holding the glass of water to his flushed cheeks to cool them down.  
  
"I can't wait to go either, it sounds exciting from all the things these three have told me," Pepper told Leo.  
  
"I can't wait for you leave, either, get you out of my hair," Leo joked.  
  
"Why is everyone being so mean to me tonight?" Pepper groaned.  
  
"You're just so easy to tease." Pepper stuck her tongue out at him. "Oh, real mature," Leo said. "If you'll excuse me, there are other customers to attend to."  
  
"See you tomorrow morning when you stop by to say farewell, right?" Pepper instructed him. Leo nodded, smiling, and walked away.  
  
"Well we have three choices now," Pepper announced. "Dance, sit or leave."  
  
"I vote leave, I'm too tired to dance anymore," Harry voted.  
  
"Me too," Hermione said.  
  
Pepper and Ron both agreed with the other two so they got down from their stools and left the club. When they got back to the house, they found Paige asleep and Phoebe was nowhere to be found. "She's probably on a date," Pepper told them. "Do you guys want a tour of the house?" she asked Ron and Hermione.  
  
When Hermione spotted the vanity in Pepper's room with heaps of makeup on it she gaped. "What, haven't you ever seen make-up before?" Pepper asked, amused.  
  
"Of course I have," Hermione snapped. "Just never that much in one place."  
  
"When have you seen make-up, Hermione?" Ron asked, his eyebrow raised. "You never wear any."  
  
"You never wear make-up?" Pepper asked, stunned that she'd met a girl who left her face alone. "You're kidding me."  
  
"You never do, do you Hermione?" Harry asked, just realizing that fact.  
  
"Well...so?" Hermione spluttered. "Just because I don't want to tamper with my looks doesn't mean anything."  
  
Pepper suddenly shooed Ron and Harry out, telling them to go watch television, or something, while she "tampered with Hermione's looks." Hermione protested heavily, but Pepper brushed her gripe aside and sat Hermione in her vanity chair.  
  
"Don't worry, I won't ruin your pretty face," Pepper assured the other girl. "I'll just enhance your looks, that's all. You'll be irresistible by the time I'm finished with you. Then, if you like you can go take a shower and wash it all off, but I just want to show you what a little make- up can do to you."  
  
After Pepper was done, she turned Hermione's chair around so that she could look at herself in the mirror. "Voila," she announced.  
  
Hermione studied herself for a minute before saying, "I do look prettier, don't I? Maybe I should start wearing make-up more often."  
  
"Then even the bloody great git Malfoy and his great hair won't even be able to resist your great looks and charm," Pepper said in a French accent.  
  
"He's got great eyes, too," Hermione giggled. "Hey, can I wear some of your clothes when we go downstairs, to really surprise Harry and Ron."  
  
"Sure," Pepper said, going to her closet. "What wouldn't you normally wear?" she asked Hermione. Hermione pointed to a beige corduroy knee length skirt and a dark honey colored v-neck top with lace in the v-neck part of the shirt. Pepper also pulled out brown boots to match and held them out to Hermione. "I'm going to take a shower while you change, so take all the time you need," Pepper said, grabbing her pajamas and leaving the room, shutting the door behind her.  
  
As soon as Pepper finished her shower and got dressed she knocked on the door of her room to see if Hermione was ready to go downstairs. "Come in," Hermione told her, and she entered the room.  
  
"Irresistible," Pepper whistled. "You're gorgeous, Hermione," she said.  
  
"You think so?" Hermione blushed.  
  
"Absolutely, now let's go," Pepper said. "If you don't mind me asking...I was wondering if you liked Ron."  
  
"You won't tell him, will you?" Hermione asked.  
  
"Nope, but I think he likes you, too."  
  
"Oh, I know he likes me, I've known for a while. He gets jealous when I talk to other boys, he flirts...I'm just waiting for him to make a move. I've been dropping hints to him, but he's just so blockheaded!" Hermione fumed.  
  
"Well he may just drop down on one knee and propose when he sees you come down those stairs," Pepper said.  
  
"So what are we waiting for?" Hermione grabbed Pepper's hand and dragged her out the door.  
  
Ron and Harry were enthralled in the television when they heard loud coughing behind them. Pepper was standing on the stairs, looking expectant. "Presenting, the new and, well, she thinks she's improved in looks anyway, irresistible even to that bloody great git Malfoy and his great hair – "  
  
"– and great eyes!" Hermione added from her hiding place at the top of the stair.  
  
"And great eyes," Pepper added. "The beautiful, sensational, gorgeous – "  
  
"Get on with it Pepper!" Hermione yelled.  
  
"Oh, fine – the superendiforous, HERMIONE GRANGER!" Pepper finished, clapping wildly and running to the foot of the stairs to let Hermione come down them.  
  
The look on the boys' faces was priceless, as Hermione knew it would be, and she'd made sure Pepper was prepared with a camera before they descended the stairs. The two boys saw a flash go off and found that Pepper had taken a picture of them, but they didn't care at the moment, they were too flabbergasted by Hermione. They'd never seen her wear something so...girly and she definitely looked different with make-up on.  
  
"Well?" Hermione asked, wanting their opinion. She came and stood in front of them, twirling around in circles. Pepper snapped a picture. "What do you think?"  
  
"Hermione," Harry said, regaining his voice, "you really are a girl." Pepper snapped a picture.  
  
"Yes, I am, Harry," Hermione said, laughing. "Ron?"  
  
"Who do you think you are?" Ron roared, suddenly standing up and wheeling on Pepper. "Just-just coming in and teaching Harry to dance and corrupting Hermione!"  
  
"Ron!" Hermione said, angered. Pepper stood there in shock, not knowing it was wrong to teach Harry to dance or put a bit of make-up on Hermione's face and lend her some clothes temporarily. She decided to stay quiet, though, it was mostly between the three old friends. Namely between Ron and Hermione. "I am NOT corrupted!" Hermione continued.  
  
"Look at you Hermione!" Ron said.  
  
"Yes? Look at me! What do you see wrong?!"  
  
"That isn't YOU! She's degraded you!"  
  
"DEGRADED ME? You really think that little of me, Ronald! You think I would let myself be DEGRADED? She did not DEGRADE me! Personally, I LIKE this look. And who ever said I would dress like this every day – this isn't me - ha. You just want me to stay a little eleven year old forever, don't you? You don't get the fact that I'm GROWING UP! Just because I look a bit different doesn't mean I've really changed!"  
  
Ron mumbled a bit, his ears very red. "Well you're always doing this, Hermione," he said, thinking of something to say. "Trying to work your way out of our friendship! You did the same thing with Krum!"  
  
Pepper noticed Harry was staying out of this, they must fight all the time then, she thought.  
  
Hermione paused, clenching her fists. "I am NOT trying to work my way out of our friendship, Ron, though maybe I SHOULD!" With that Hermione ran upstairs, locking herself in Pepper's room.  
  
Pepper stood there, wondering what she should do. She hadn't meant to do anything wrong...She looked at Harry to see if he could give her some instruction but he looked pretty helpless, too. She certainly didn't want to talk to Ron; he'd pissed her off a bit. "Do you want me to talk to Hermione?" she mouthed at Harry. He nodded and motioned he'd talk to Ron.  
  
Pepper went upstairs and knocked on her bedroom door. "Hermione?" she said softly. She heard crying from inside. "Hermione, could you unlock the door? It's Pepper."  
  
"It's unlocked, come in," sobbed Hermione. Pepper opened the door and saw Hermione sitting on her bed, her head in her hands. Pepper went over and sat on the bed next to Hermione. "He always starts these vicious rows with me," Hermione said angrily, swiping at her tears. "He-he wants to be so bloody protective, well, I'm tired of it! I just want to go down there and tell him how I feel, maybe that will shut him up!"  
  
Pepper didn't want to encourage Hermione to go do just that because she thought it might make Ron madder, or get Hermione or Harry mad at her. She wondered if Hermione or Harry was mad at her already. "Her-Hermione, are you annoyed with me? Do you think I'm butting in, like Ron said?" Pepper asked timidly.  
  
Hermione turned her tear-stained face towards Pepper, her red eyes wide. She shook her head slowly. "Ron's a git, don't listen to anything he says, Pepper. He's so bigheaded. Though," Hermione began as sort of an afterthought, "you do come off as a bit cocky and overpowering..."  
  
"Oh...I'm sorry, I'll try to tone it down a tad," Pepper apologized.  
  
"But it's not your fault Pepper, Ron's just overprotective. I know he likes me but then he rows with me and it pushes me away. I-I just can't stand it. Does he want me to like him back or not?" Hermione's voice wavered and she burst into tears again, her head returning to her hands. Pepper hesitantly put her arm around the girl and when Hermione didn't seem to notice she began to move her hand soothingly up and down her back in an effort to comfort her.  
  
There was a knock at the open door and Pepper saw Harry was standing there wearing a slightly pained expression. "Ron's gone home," he said. "Said you were too bigheaded to be his friend." Pepper didn't point out to anyone that Hermione had also called Ron bigheaded; she figured this wasn't the greatest time to do that.  
  
"Well..." Hermione lifted her head and looked at Harry. Her tears were waning but her face was red and blotchy. Harry looked at her, it appeared he didn't like to see one of his best friends cry.  
  
"I s'pose he'll be back though, to apologize," Harry shrugged. "Mrs. Weasley'll see to that. You know, Hermione," Harry said, sitting on the bed on the other side of Hermione and placing his hand on her knee, "he really fancies you, he just..." Harry could think of what Ron "just" was.  
  
"He's JUST a git who wants to have a handle on me," Hermione finished for him.  
  
The three of them sat there for a while until Pepper said, "Maybe I should just apologize to him. It was my fault he was shouting at you."  
  
"It's not really your fault, Pepper," said Harry. "He just feels threatened, you being a new friend; you might pull some of Hermione's attention from him to you, that's all."  
  
"Yeah, Pepper, he just always needs something to fight about," Hermione sniffed.  
  
"But I'm still imposing, just barging into your lives like this, and I'm head strong about it, too," Pepper argued. "I know I wouldn't want anyone doing that to my friendship."  
  
"Pepper, believe me, we'd tell you if we didn't like you or what you're doing," Hermione said pointedly.  
  
"Well Ron told me he doesn't like it...so I think we should go downstairs and wait for him to come back – if he really will." Pepper got off the bed and went back down to the living room to wait for Ron.  
  
Hermione let out a sigh. "She really thinks we don't like her?" she wondered. "Well I like her."  
  
"I like her too, but from what I gathered from her aunt's letters, she hasn't had very many friends in the past sixteen years and I s'pose she wants us to like her so she'll have some guaranteed friends at school," Harry said. "Oh, and...Hermione...your, um, make-up, it's sort of running all down your face."  
  
Hermione ran to the vanity and looked in the mirror. Squealing, she took a tissue and rubbed her face furiously with it. "Do you really think Ron will come back?" she asked amid rubbing and wiping.  
  
"Yes," Harry said. "Mrs. Weasley won't let him stay there for long after she finds out he's had a row with you, and especially one about Pepper."  
  
"I think Mrs. Weasley liked her, don't you?" Hermione said, licking the tissue and commencing rubbing.  
  
"Yes," Harry agreed. "Why wouldn't she like her? It's not as if Pepper gave her a reason not to. She was polite and talkative and..." Harry went on and on about what Pepper was.  
  
Hermione turned her head towards Harry with an amused look on her face. "Do you like her, Harry?" she asked.  
  
"Of course I like her, Hermione, we just went over this."  
  
"No, do you fancy her."  
  
"I don't fancy her, Hermione; I've only just met her yesterday!"  
  
"But, you speak so highly of her and – "  
  
"Well that's because I like her, I'm trying to make her feel welcome – "  
  
"Alright, Harry, I get it," Hermione said, stopping him from starting to rant again. She still thought Harry fancied Pepper, but she didn't want Harry defending himself anymore. She guessed that time would tell if he liked her or not. Getting up, she went downstairs to wait with Pepper.  
  
"Hey," she said to Pepper, sitting in the armchair across from the girl. "He's still not back, then?" she asked.  
  
Pepper shook her head. "I really feel bad, even though Ron may fight a lot, I bet that was the first time it was about me."  
  
"In a sense," Hermione said. "That thing he said about Krum, well, Krum was my boyfriend in Fourth Year, and Ron got jealous, saying I was fraternizing with the enemy because there was this TriWizard Tournament – "  
  
"Yes, Harry told me about it," Pepper told Hermione.  
  
"Oh, well anyway, so Krum was competing against Harry...Ron just thought I was trying to get out of the friendship, make NEW friends, which I think is perfectly okay. So, anyway, that's what Ron was saying this time, too."  
  
"But he was yelling AT ME this time."  
  
"Yes, but indirectly...oh Pepper, it's fine, it'll just take him a while to get used to the idea that things will change a little, we'll make a new friend." Hermione smiled at Pepper, trying to reassure her.  
  
Suddenly, there was a great burst of soot from the fireplace and Ron came shooting out of it. As soon as he'd straightened himself out, Pepper apologized before Hermione could tell her there was no need to.  
  
Ron was taken aback – he hadn't expected an apology. He'd been sent back by his mother, so he could apologize, not Pepper. He knew he'd been out of line, Pepper was just making friends, Harry had told him she hadn't really had many her whole life, so he could understand that she wanted friends. And naturally Hermione would take to her, after all, she was a girl and she needed a girl friend, as her two best friends were guys. Though, Ron did want an apology from Pepper for taking Hermione's attention, he knew he didn't deserve one, Pepper wouldn't know she'd been doing anything wrong. Well, he supposed, she hadn't done anything wrong, really. He was just jealous that Hermione wasn't paying mind to him. He wanted to tell Hermione how he felt right then and there, but he didn't have the courage to.  
  
Hermione and Pepper sat there, wondering what Ron's response would be to Pepper's apology. He didn't seem to be doing much of anything at the moment, though both of the girls thought he owed them both an apology himself.  
  
"Oh, er, I'm sorry," Ron finally said as if he just realized he was standing there silently and needed to say something.  
  
"For?" Hermione prompted.  
  
"For saying all that stuff I did, I know you didn't do anything wrong, either of you, and I'm sorry," Ron said to Hermione's satisfaction.  
  
"S'all right," Pepper told him.  
  
"I forgive you, Ronald," Hermione said. "However, I wish you'd stop starting arguments with me."  
  
"I'll try," Ron promised. Hermione harrumphed but decided that was all right.  
  
Harry appeared in the living room with a smile on his face. "All settled?" he asked. He didn't like it when his two best friends had an argument, it always left him to pick a side, which was not something he wanted to do because he usually agreed with Hermione and knew if he told Ron that he'd go a few days without speaking to Harry. He knew this row was small in comparison to some of the others, but he still didn't like it. Over the past few years he'd learned that the best way to deal with it was to stay out or comfort a crying Hermione, not choose a side. Harry just hoped this argument was over and they could move on with acquainting themselves with Pepper.  
  
"Yes, it's all settled," Hermione answered him, bringing Harry back to reality.  
  
"Well, that's good then," Harry nodded.  
  
There was a stretch of silence in which they heard a bang against the side of the house. Pepper furrowed her brow and looked out the front window to see what it was. She saw her Aunt Phoebe with her arms wrapped around a guy, and even in the dark she could tell their tongues were down each other's throats. She closed the curtain and turned back to the others, resisting the urge to gag, she told them it was nothing.  
  
A minute later, Phoebe walked in the door. Spotting them all in the living room, she said, "What are you guys doing up so late? You start school tomorrow, you should get some sleep. I'm going to bed." She flung herself up the stairs and was out of sight.  
  
"Looks like she had a good time on her date," Pepper mumbled.  
  
"Where are we sleeping?" Hermione asked.  
  
"My aunts say boys in a room and girls in another," Pepper told them. "So I guess my room and here, but I don't know who's where."  
  
"Me and Ron can sleep down here," Harry offered. Ron nodded in agreement.  
  
"Cool, then Hermione and I get my room. I'm not sure I'd want you guys going through my stuff anyway..." Pepper said, raising her eyebrow. "Well, good night then. The blankets and pillows are on the couches." She waved to them and after Hermione bid them good night the two girls went upstairs to Pepper's room. "Do you want to take a shower?" Pepper asked Hermione.  
  
Hermione said yes, she did, so Pepper set up with clean towels and pajamas. While Hermione was showering, Pepper made sure she had everything she needed for the start of school in the morning. After Hermione got out of the shower the two girls talked for a while before they were too tired to do anything but sleep. 


	7. Chapter 6: Welcome to Hogwarts

A/N: I haven't been getting many reviews for this fic...I may stop posting...but for now, on with the show.  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
Chapter 6  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
"Girls wake up! It's seven! Which is nine thirty in London! You have to leave in forty-five minutes!" Phoebe said, flicking the lights on and off in Pepper's room. Pepper shot up into a sitting position from where she was sleeping on the floor and Hermione did so from the bed. Phoebe left the room as the girls got dressed, Pepper did both of their makeup and they triple checked Pepper's suitcase.  
  
Finally getting downstairs, they found the boys and Pepper's three aunts were already waiting for them by the fireplace. "Isn't uncle Leo dropping by?" Pepper asked anxiously.  
  
"He said he was going to, but he'd better make it fast, we have five minutes until we have to leave," Piper said.  
  
The seconds ticked by as seven people tapped their feet impatiently on the hardwood floor, waiting to see if Leo would arrive. When four minutes had passed, Leo suddenly appeared, much to Pepper's pleasure. She grabbed him round the middle and hugged him tightly. His arms went around her, too, and he hugged her back.  
  
"Bye, Uncle Leo," she said. "See you in December."  
  
"Bye, kiddo," he said, kissing the top of her head. "Have fun and behave yourself."  
  
She tipped her head up and looked him in the face, wearing a mischievous grin. "Of course I'll behave, when have you known me not to?" she said sneakily.  
  
"Sure," he said. Kissing her again, he let her go and said farewell to the other three kids before orbing away.  
  
"Well then," Paige said. "Let's do this Floo thing."  
  
Harry explained the process of Floo Powder to Pepper's aunts and then they were off, each of them screaming "the Burrow!" and then spinning off to the Weasley's fireplace.  
  
Mrs. Weasley welcomed them all and gave them all a "spot of breakfast" before they were all packed away into what Mr. Weasley said were "Ministry cars."  
  
Pepper, Paige, Piper and Phoebe were all in one car with a driver, so the three older witches took this time to say their goodbyes and their we're so proud of yous and they're good luck in schools to their niece. There were some tears shed also. Pepper decided to take the time to ask her aunts a question that had been tugging at the back of her brain for a while now. "Did Mom buy me that car? Because I didn't think I'd told anyone but her and I don't think she'd tell you about it...she wanted to be able to get it herself so it would be a surprise for all of us..."  
  
This surprised her aunts a little, so it took them a moment to answer. "She'd had it at the car dealership and she told us when she left for the war," Piper told her finally. "Why did you want to know?"  
  
"I didn't think you could afford all you did for my birthday," Pepper smiled. Her aunts chuckled.  
  
The driver stopped at a train station called Kings Cross, and the four of them got out. They retrieved Pepper's trunk and met up with the Weasleys, Harry and Hermione again. Pepper looked at her ticket. "Platform nine and three-quarters?" she asked, seeing that there was only a Platform 9 and a Platform 10.  
  
"Yes, dear," Mrs. Weasley said. "You see the barrier there, between Platforms nine and ten? You run through that wall and you come upon Platform nine and three-quarters."  
  
"Run through the wall?" Pepper asked, gulping.  
  
"Yes," Mrs. Weasley replied. "You watch Ron," she said, beckoning Ron to go ahead and set an example. Ron got a grip on his trolley and ran straight into the brick wall. Pepper winced, expecting him to crash but he just disappeared. "See?" Mrs. Weasley said brightly, smiling reassuringly at Pepper. Harry, Hermione and the youngest Weasley – Ginny – went next, and then Pepper did.  
  
She grasped the metal bar on her trolley and approached the barrier. She saw that it was indeed solid; there was no hole or space between any of the bricks. She moved forward, picking up speed as she went.  
  
She passed right through the wall.  
  
Pepper couldn't believe it; she'd just walked right through a wall. Behind her, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and her aunts came through and her aunts looked as surprised as she felt.  
  
"Pepper, come on!" She turned around and saw a scarlet train, labeled Hogwarts Express, and beside it three people, beckoning her over. She walked over to Ron, Harry, Hermione and Ginny and looked around at all the people in the station. She hadn't thought about how many people would attend the school but she didn't think she expected there to be this many people, and she was sure that wasn't nearly everyone. She didn't even know that there were many witches in the world, and here they were, all packed into this train station.  
  
"We've got to get a compartment," Hermione said.  
  
"Hold on," Pepper begged, running over to her aunts and giving them each hugs and kisses. "I'll write," she promised them. "Bye Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, thanks for everything." And with a wave to the adults she hurried back to her new friends.  
  
They found a compartment before the train was too full and they all entered it, shutting the glass door behind them. Pepper took in her surroundings, she'd never been on a train before, let alone an express and she liked it that she actually had a destination to go to on this train.  
  
When the train began moving, Hermione, Ron and Ginny said (uncomfortably) that they had to go to the Prefects carriage, so they all left, leaving Harry and Pepper alone in the car. "So are you excited?" Harry asked her.  
  
"No, Harry, I'm not excited at all about going to a school of Witchcraft and Wizardry," Pepper said sarcastically. "Of course I'm excited, what do you think I am, a rock?"  
  
"Okay. Sorry," Harry said, not appreciative of her way of answering. He was just asking, trying to make conversation.  
  
"I'm going to sound really out of place, aren't I?" she asked. "Everyone else is British-ish?"  
  
"You might," Harry answered.  
  
The door to their car opened and a girl with waist-length dirty blonde hair and very large eyes entered, carrying a magazine in one hand. "Hello Harry," she said dreamily. Without asking anyone was sitting with them, she took a seat on the bench Harry was sitting on, but as far away from him as possible. She opened the magazine upside down and immersed herself in it.  
  
"Hello Luna," Harry said. "Did you have a good summer?"  
  
The girl looked over the top of her upside-down magazine at Harry. "Yes," she said as dreamily as she had before. "I don't know you," she said to Pepper, realizing that there was someone else in the compartment.  
  
"Luna Lovegood, Pepper Halliwell," said Harry, introducing the two. "Luna's in fifth-year with Ginny, but she's in Ravenclaw."  
  
"Hi," Pepper said friendlily.  
  
Luna just went back to reading her magazine.  
  
Half an hour later there was a clatter in the hallway and a woman opened their door and said, "Anything off the cart, dears?"  
  
Pepper was puzzled for a minute before she saw Harry get up and go to the door, money in his hand, and the woman brought a cart full of sweets into view. Pepper got up, too, ready to buy some British treats but saw magical ones instead like Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans and Pumpkin Pasties. She bought a few of each and between hers and Harry's sweets they had quite and they almost took up the whole bench she was sitting on.  
  
They gorged on sweets for the next hour, Pepper learning some of the weird flavors of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, how Chocolate Frogs have one good jump in them and that there are cards of famous wizards and witches in them. Harry had gotten mostly Chocolate Frogs to see how many different cards he could get, so the two of them ate Frogs and swapped cards while Luna read her upside-down magazine. They offered her some food but she read on, though Pepper noticed she stole a glance at Harry every once in a while.  
  
By the time Hermione, Ron and Ginny returned there were seats available to sit in and they plopped down in them heavily. "There's a lot to do this year, be glad you guys aren't prefects," Hermione sighed, helping herself to a Cauldron Cake. "Oh, hello Luna."  
  
Luna waved her hand a bit, not really caring who it was that spoke to her.  
  
"You've eaten all the Chocolate Frogs," Ron scolded Pepper and Harry.  
  
"Well they're really good...and Pepper wanted to have a card collection. We were having contests to see who could eat the most of them in a certain amount of time, too," Harry explained.  
  
"But you know those are my favorites," whined Ron.  
  
"Ron there are plenty more sweets here," Hermione pointed out. Pepper was about to say doesn't the sweet lady come by the prefect compartment but then remembered that Harry had told her the Weasleys didn't have much money and she figured that Harry usually bought the treats for Ron and Hermione, too.  
  
Ron muttered something incoherent but took something else anyway.  
  
The compartment door opened again and this time it was Malfoy, flanked by two large, mean looking boys whom Pepper guessed to be Crabbe and Goyle. Harry had told her Malfoy needed bodyguards because he was to chicken to do anything himself, and the way he'd described them they sounded like these two boys.  
  
"Well, Potty, the Weasels and the Mudblood seemed to have made a new friend. Did they bribe you?" Malfoy asked Pepper. "Halliwell, right?" he said, looking at her and realizing who it was.  
  
"Oh, Malfoy, I feel so honored – you actually remembered my name! Catch me, I think I'm going to faint!" Pepper exclaimed, dramatically flinging the back of her hand to her forehead and pretending to faint against the window.  
  
Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny laughed and Malfoy glared at her. Then he and his bodyguards left and Pepper came out of her fake faint.  
  
The five of them spent the rest of the train ride talking or looking out the window and when there was an announcement that they would be coming up on Hogwarts soon they all changed into their robes.  
  
Pepper pressed her face to the glass when Hogwarts came into view; she wanted to see everything she possibly could. She couldn't see the school from the train, though, especially in the dark, so she focused her attention on packing the rest of the sweets into her pockets along with the other four people.  
  
The train finally stopped and everyone emptied their cars and headed for the exits of the train. They all stepped out and onto a tiny platform, Pepper waiting to see how they were getting up to the castle.  
  
Horseless carriages were their means of transportation, Pepper discovered as a mass of them was drawn up around them. They all climbed into one and as it rattled along the school finally came into view.  
  
Pepper gasped when she saw the hugeness of the castle. She didn't know what she was expecting exactly, but not a gigantic castle on a hill, that was for sure. Her stomach was now jumping with nerves and excitement and she had to contain herself from bouncing up and down in her seat.  
  
After a long, winding road the carriage pulled up in front of Hogwarts. They exited it and went up the flight of stone stairs that led up to the castle. A giant wooden door was swung open and they crossed the threshold into the entrance hall, which was so big Pepper couldn't see the ceiling. She realized she was the only person looking around with great interest, everyone else was acting if this was a normal routine, so she made her head stop moving.  
  
"Miss Halliwell," a formidable looking woman suddenly appeared beside her, wearing emerald green robes and a tall, pointed black hat, not unlike Pepper's own. "I'm Professor McGonagall," the woman introduced herself. "The Headmaster would like to see you." Pepper waved her hand in a 'see you later' to Harry, Ron and Hermione and followed Professor McGonagall.  
  
The witch led her through winding passageways, up staircases that sometimes moved and to a statue of a raven. "Tootsie Roll," she said and the statue twisted into a staircase. Pepper followed Professor McGonagall up the stone steps and the Professor let her into an office where there were some of the strangest things Pepper had ever seen.  
  
There were portraits of witches and wizards that were moving in their frames, some were talking to others and some were reading a book, others were doing other normal, everyday things, though Pepper did not think it was very every day to have moving pictures. There were silver instruments on spindly pieces of furniture and behind a desk was a man with a long silvery beard and cool blue eyes.  
  
"Hello, Miss Halliwell, I am Professor Dumbledore," he said. "Please, have a seat for I am afraid we do not have much time."  
  
Pepper sat in a chair in front of his desk and waited for him to continue.  
  
"I would just like to tell you a few things so that you are not too confused. I trust Harry Potter has told you about the four houses?" he asked. Pepper nodded. "Well you will need to be sorted into one of those tonight."  
  
Pepper hadn't really thought about this, she just hoped she'd automatically be in Gryffindor, where Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny were.  
  
"At the feast in the Great Hall tonight, the First Years will be sorted. However, you need to be sorted, also, so Professor McGonagall shall sort you first. I must ask you, do you prefer Halliwell or Black?"  
  
Pepper wondered for a minute how he knew that, but she was sure he'd heard from the Ministry of Magic, like Mr. Weasley, and thought nothing else of it. After all, why shouldn't he know? "Halliwell," she replied.  
  
"Very well, I will take the liberty of escorting you down to the Great Hall, we have delayed the Sorting on your behalf, Miss Halliwell, so we must get a move on. One more thing before we go, I assume you guessed that you shall need to have private sessions with each of your teachers to make sure you are caught up in class. You can work that out with your professors individually." With that he got out from behind his desk and he and Pepper walked back down to the entrance hall, Professor Dumbledore talking to her as they went.  
  
He told her about some of the portraits hanging in the stone corridors and she asked why they moved. He asked her if she really expected them to hang around in one place and she just shrugged. He then said she must've eaten some Chocolate Frogs on the train, didn't she notice the wizards in those pictures moving? She said she wasn't too observant of these things and then she wondered to herself why she hadn't noticed. He told her some of the tricks to Hogwarts, how the staircases moved and there were some stairs that were like quicksand, others laughed when you stepped on them and still others vanished and you had to jump them. He told her about tricky doors that wouldn't open unless you asked politely and doors that were just walls.  
  
When they finally reached the entrance hall, Pepper saw that there were two more heavy doors, and they opened to reveal a large room with four long tables and another table at the top of the hall. The hundreds of students occupying the tables all shut up when Pepper and Dumbledore entered the hall and by the "oohs" behind her Pepper could tell there were other people following the two of them. She guessed they were the first years, come in for sorting.  
  
The entire group of them walked up to the front of the room, and, with a pat on her shoulder, Dumbledore went to sit at the high table that Pepper now saw, was filled with teachers. Professor McGonagall stood in front of all the new students by a stool with a worn-looking hat atop it. Then a rip near the brim of the hat opened and it began to sing...  
  
Pepper only caught the first few lines of the song before she was too nauseous to concentrate on anything but not throwing up in front of the whole Great Hall. She began to look around. The four tables, she found, were laden with gold goblets and plates, but there was no food on the tables. She almost gasped when she saw the ceiling – it looked exactly like the night sky outside, except Pepper didn't feel any breeze or cool air in the room. She scanned the tables and found Harry, Hermione, Ron and Ginny sitting at one and across the room she saw Malfoy and his two bodyguards.  
  
Everyone began clapping and Pepper realized the Hat had finished its song. "When I call your name please step up to the stool and place the Sorting Hat on your head," Professor McGonagall said. "Oh, but first we have a new sixth year student joining us this year who will be sorted first. Pepper Halliwell," said Professor McGonagall, calling Pepper up to the stool.  
  
Pepper nervously walked up to the four-legged stool. She picked up the hat, sat down, and placed it on her head. It almost slipped over her eyes, but she could still peer out at the four tables from under the brim.  
  
Suddenly, there was a small voice going "Hmm..." in her ear. "Where shall I place you?" the voice said. "There's cunning...a great mind and power...bravery, I see, willing to go to any lengths to save someone..."  
  
Pepper remembered what Harry had told her. He hadn't wanted to be in Slytherin and he said he had just thought it in his mind and the hat had put him in Gryffindor.  
  
"Where shall I put you?" the voice said again. Not Slytherin, Pepper thought, taking Harry's advice. "Are you sure?" the voice asked her. "Slytherin could do great things for you." But Pepper wasn't sure. She wanted to be with Harry, Ron and Hermione but she also wanted to learn to her full potential and if Slytherin could help her with that...  
  
"Not sure then," said the voice, reading her thoughts. "Gryffindor... Ravenclaw...Slytherin...you could be great in any. Though there's a desire for companionship, I see...well then, it better be GRYFFINDOR!" The hat yelled the last word to the whole hall and the Gryffindor table cheered as she made her way over, glad she was done with that ordeal, and sat between Hermione and Harry. Both of them smiled at her and she gave them a relieved smile in return.  
  
As the Sorting went on, Pepper noticed that hardly any of them took as long as her sorting did, though maybe it just seemed long because she was the one up there and she was so nervous. "Did I take longer than these others?" she whispered to Hermione.  
  
"Yes, you even took longer than Harry did, and he took long," Hermione whispered back. "What was it saying to you?" Someone being sorted into Gryffindor interrupted their conversation as the table burst into cheers.  
  
"It was saying all of these characteristics and strengths I had and that I'd be good in Ravenclaw, Slytherin or Gryffindor but I got sorted here because I have a 'desire for companionship.'" Pepper told the other girl.  
  
"It almost put me in Ravenclaw," Hermione said. "You know, I don't know if that's normal, having three houses you'd do well in. You'd probably be the best in Hufflepuff if that were where it put you, but then, everyone in any other house would be the best in Hufflepuff, they're not too bright. Known for their loyalty to each other," Hermione whispered, letting out a 'ha'.  
  
"Oh," Pepper said in answer, and they clapped again as another person was dubbed a Gryffindor.  
  
When the sorting ended, Dumbledore stood up and said a few words, and when he was done a magnificent feast appeared on the table. "Where'd it come from?" Pepper wondered.  
  
"The kitchens are right below here," Hermione explained. "House elves make the food and then it's sent up through the floor."  
  
Pepper asked no more, just piled her plate high with food and began to eat.  
  
"So, Pepper, did you do what I told you?" Harry asked.  
  
She nodded. Swallowing, she said, "But then it asked me if I was sure and I wasn't. I just wanted to be in the House that would help me out the most."  
  
"Well, you're in Gryffindor and we'll help you out, too," he said.  
  
"Thanks, I'll probably need a lot of it," said Pepper.  
  
After the feast, the Gryffindors were led up to their dormitories, the prefects leading the way. "Here's one reason why you'll be glad," Harry said to Pepper as they made their way up a moving light of stairs, "Our common room is much nicer than the Slytherin one."  
  
"You've been in there?" Pepper asked. "I thought you were only allowed in your own common room."  
  
"It's a long story," Harry said. "I'm sure you'll get to hear it later. Let's listen for the password..."  
  
"Fortis Animi," Hermione said to a portrait of a fat lady in a pink dress.  
  
"Go in," the Fat Lady said and the portrait swung open to reveal a warmly lit room decorated in gold and maroon. There was a fireplace on one side of the room and there were couches and armchairs in front of it. At the far side of the room there were a few tables and desk chairs at them.  
  
"Boys dormitories are up those stairs to the left and girls are the same to your right," Hermione announced. "You'll find your things are already up there."  
  
There was a great shuffling as all of the Gryffindors filed into the common room and went up to their dormitories. Pepper waited for Hermione to finish directing traffic so she could go up with the girl. She didn't really want to go into the wrong dormitory and she figured Hermione would know since she'd been going here for five years already.  
  
Pepper followed Hermione up the small flight of stairs to the right and into a hallway with more than a few doors. Hermione led her to the sixth one on the left side and opened it. There were four canopy beds and two dressers in the dorm and Pepper saw that her trunk was at the foot of one bed so, supposing that was hers, she pulled back the curtains to take a look at it. It wasn't too exciting - white sheets and a gold bedspread - but when Pepper sat on it she found it was pretty comfortable.  
  
Coming out from her bed, Pepper asked Hermione whom else they shared the dormitory with.  
  
"Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil," Hermione answered a hint of annoyance in her voice.  
  
"Are they both sixth years, too?" Pepper asked. Hermione nodded.  
  
Just then, the door squeaked open and two girls walked in. They stopped giggling when they saw Pepper and Hermione standing there and one of the girls smiled fakely at Pepper. "Hi," she said, "I'm Lavender Brown, and this is Parvati Patil."  
  
"Pepper Halliwell, nice to meet you," Pepper said.  
  
Lavender and Parvati seemed to be eyeing her up with a mean look in their eyes, as if they wanted to see if she would be competition. Competition for what, Pepper did not know, though she could guess it was for attention or boys from the way these girls carried themselves and by the amount of makeup they wore.  
  
"Well, I'm going to bed," said Parvati, looking less mean after she decided Pepper wasn't much competition. "I need my beauty rest."  
  
"Me too," Lavender added, also deciding Pepper wasn't near competition.  
  
But they didn't get much beauty rest, Pepper knew, because they were up all night giggling and laughing together. Pepper was too excited and nervous about staring classes tomorrow to get much sleep herself, but she could tell that's not why Lavender and Parvati didn't sleep. Pepper caught a bunch of names, giggles and then what they thought of those people from their conversation. She even caught her own name, giggles and then: "Do you think she thinks she's pretty?" "I'm not sure, cause she's NOT!" Giggle, giggle. "I know, I don't know if she wants a boyfriend, but she's not going to get one." "Yea, just like Hermione. She's probably a bookworm, too." Giggle. "But don't you think Ron likes Hermione?" "Maybe...but they've been friends for so long how can you tell?" "Maybe she's just put a charm on him or something so she can get a boyfriend." Giggle. "Well, Pepper just better not be after Harry, he is so mine."  
  
Pepper thought she'd have to tell Harry about this, but she didn't know which one of them liked him. Oh well, it might still give him a laugh...unless ... unless she meant 'he is so mine' by 'we're already going out.' Pepper didn't think Harry would stoop to going out with girls like Lavender and Parvati, but even so, she thought she'd have to ask him or Hermione about it. Then Pepper wondered why she even cared if he was going out with someone like those two girls. She wasn't jealous, was she? No, why would she be? She was just Harry's friend and she wanted to know if he was dating one of these two girls because he should know they were talking about other people and that's a mean thing to do.  
  
Yes, she decided as she drifted off to sleep, I'm not jealous of them, I just want to look after Harry...I'm his friend...no....not...jealous... 


	8. Chapter 7: Pairing with the Dragon

A/N: Alright, I have to clear something up for 'queen of elders' who really thinks Piper is supposed to be the main character. Pepper is the main character, did you really think I meant Piper when Piper is already mentioned in the story? Well, if you did I should just let you know the main characters name is Pepper. P-E-P-P-E-R, as in the spice? Okay, now that I've done that I should tell all of you readers I might take this story down because I only have 9 reviews. Unless I get more I think it's going bye bye.  
  
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Chapter 7  
  
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Pepper put on her school robes and checked herself in the mirror before going down to breakfast with Hermione. Pepper was trying to memorize where everything was on the way down to the Great Hall but with all the corridors and moving staircases it was nearly impossible.  
  
Hermione and Pepper sat down at the Gryffindor table and began to eat breakfast. Pepper saw that there weren't nearly as many people here for breakfast as their had been for dinner last night and she took note that she could sleep in some days, then.  
  
As Pepper began to consult her class schedule, there was a loud rustling as hundreds of owls came swooping into the room, bringing mail to their owners. Harry, Ron and Hermione each got something and Pepper went back to her breakfast when Harry held something out to her.  
  
"What?" Pepper asked.  
  
"It's a letter for you, Pig brought it," Harry explained as if she was very young and slow.  
  
"Oh...Pig?" Pepper asked. Harry pointed sideways with his thumb to Ron and a little hopping thing in front of him. It took Pepper a minute to realize this thing was a small owl.  
  
"Pig!" said Ron to the owl. "Stopping jumping around like mad! Here, eat a bit of toast." Ron picked up a piece of toast that was almost as big as the owl and shoved it in the owl's beak, almost knocking it backwards. "I left you at home for a reason you know," he mumbled.  
  
"Why'd you name it Pig?" Pepper asked. "He doesn't look much like a pig."  
  
"His proper name is Pigwidgeon," Ginny told Pepper. "It's sweet, don't you think?"  
  
"Erm, yes, sweet," Pepper said. She took the envelope from Harry and opened it. Inside there were two letters. She opened the first, wondering who a second one could be from...she knew one would be from her aunts but she hadn't any friends except the ones sitting here...  
  
The first one was from her aunts as she suspected and the first section was in Piper's handwriting:  
  
Pepper, I hope your first day of school is going well and you haven't gotten into any trouble yet. I miss you already and don't know how I'm going to survive not seeing you until Christmas break. Mrs. Weasley was nice enough to let us use her son's owl, but I think you should get one so we can send regular letters. Send a letter back sweetie.  
  
Then there was a section in her Aunt Phoebe's handwriting:  
  
The house is so quiet without you here! Not much has really happened to fill you in on except that yesterday since we were so sad after you left Mrs. Weasley invited us over for lunch and a 'spot of tea.' She really is nice, isn't she? Well, anyway, I really miss you and your demon fighting skills, though we haven't had a demon to fight yet since you left. Paige is fighing to write, here, so I'll say goodbye. I love you honey!  
  
The last part was in her Aunt Paige's writing:  
  
I was wondering if you packed your birthday present from me, I didn't get a chance to ask you that yesterday. Anyway, did anyone tell you how quiet the house is now? We're all sort of depressed over your leaving and I can't wait to see you. We've never been without you for more than a few hours and now you're halfway around the world. Love, Aunt Piper, Aunt Phoebe, Aunt Paige  
  
Pepper realized at that moment how much she missed her aunts. Her Aunt Paige was right; she'd never been away from them for more than a few hours. To keep herself from crying, she opened the other letter, finding it was from Mrs. Weasley. She was really nice, wasn't she?  
  
Pepper dear, Arthur and I hope you're having a wonderful time at Hogwarts so far. We know it's your first time around witches and wizards and we hope their treating you well. If Ronald isn't then you can just tell me and I'll put him right. Will you please write back to your aunts, too, they were very distraught yesterday after the train left. Good luck with your classes, Sincerely, Mrs. Molly Weasley  
  
Pepper smiled, that was very sweet for her to do. She'd have to write back to Mrs. Weasley, she just wasn't sure when because it seemed Ron was sending Pig away with a letter right now.  
  
"Are there any school owls I could use?" Pepper asked the table.  
  
"Yes, in the Owlery," Hermione answered. "Who wrote you?" she asked, opening the newspaper she'd gotten.  
  
"My Aunts and Mrs. Weasley," Pepper responded. "What's that you're reading?"  
  
"The Daily Prophet," Hermione said. She showed the front cover to Pepper. There was a moving black and white picture of a man with a bowler hat on. The caption underneath said Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge Thinks About Retirement.  
  
"So all pictures move here?" Pepper asked.  
  
"Of course," said Ron, helping himself to seconds.  
  
"What's our first class?" Harry asked. "I haven't looked at my schedule yet."  
  
"Herbology," Hermione answered, not even looking at her sheet.  
  
"Have you memorized the schedule already?" Ron asked.  
  
"Yes," Hermione said. "Then we have Transfiguration, I have Ancient Runes...Pepper do you have Ancient Runes or Divination?"  
  
"Ancient Runes," Pepper replied. "Then Potions."  
  
"Ug, with the Slytherins," Ron said disgustedly, looking at his class sheet.  
  
"Well we'd better get going," said Hermione. "We've got to pick up our books from our dorms and then get down to the greenhouses."  
  
In Herbology with the Hufflepuffs a fellow Gryffindor Neville Longbottom answered most all the questions Professor Sprout asked. They were learning how to plant Kilgimunas and then how to extract the sap from their stems. The sap was to be put in tea to cure a cold and for homework they had to write a twelve-inch essay on it. After class when Pepper asked Professor Sprout about setting a time to catch up, Professor Sprout said stop by on Saturday morning.  
  
Pepper found Ancient Runes very interesting and managed to answer one of the questions Hermione hadn't answered. She was to meet with this professor Saturday after she met with Professor Sprout.  
  
Pepper had been warned about the Professor Snape, who taught Potions, so she didn't want to give him any reason not to like her, other than that she was a Gryffindor. Harry and Ron had informed her that he'd taken points unfairly from them just because they weren't in Slytherin.  
  
It took Pepper and Hermione a while to get from the Ancient Runes classroom down to the dungeons, where Hermione said the Potions room was. They'd just gotten in and taken their seats when Professor Snape entered. His jet- black robes billowed a bit behind him as he made his way to the front of the room. He waved his wand at the board behind him and ingredients and instructions appeared on it.  
  
"You have till the end of the class to make this potion. Bring a vile up to me at the end of the hour. I'll put you into pairs," Professor Snape went around the room-putting people in pairs. Pepper looked at the board. She recognized some of the ingredients but others were a complete mystery to her. Snape came to her to pair her up. "Halliwell and Malfoy," he said, and then moved on.  
  
Pepper couldn't believe it; she'd gotten paired with Malfoy. Probably so Malfoy could make her seem like a complete idiot in front of Snape, so he didn't think she knew anything. Well, she'd sure show him. She walked over to Malfoy's table where he was sitting there, smirking. "You're lucky, you know that Halliwell?" he sneered, "You've got Snape's favorite student to work with. Now go get me some – "  
  
"Why don't you?" she asked sweetly.  
  
"Because I'm mixing the potion," he answered arrogantly.  
  
"What if I want to mix it?" said Pepper.  
  
"You've never made a potion before," he said matter-of-factly. "You've had no magical training."  
  
"Now that's where you're wrong, Malfoy. I've made plenty of potions before," she said truthfully, referring to the dozens of vanquishing potions she helped her aunts make. "And I have had magical training." He opened his mouth to say something but she cut him off by saying, "But I'll get the ingredients since you so desperately want to mix it yourself." And with that she was off gathering the things on the board, thinking, I sure showed Malfoy, now I just need to make him screw up on the potion so I can one up him.  
  
She returned with the supplies just as Snape was walking by their table. She placed the things on the table and began cutting them as it said on the board to do. She didn't want to screw up at all but she was getting a bit nervous as Snape was watching her over her shoulder. "You must cut them evenly," he snapped at Pepper before moving on. Malfoy's smirk grew deeper. Pepper thought of saying "They ARE even," but thought better of it.  
  
Throughout the class Malfoy kept commanding Pepper to cut this and hand him that and she obeyed begrudgingly, not wanting Snape to find something else wrong with what she was doing, though she'd occasionally add this and that to the cauldron. By the end of the hour they were finished with their potion and it was the correct texture and color. Malfoy put some in a vial and took it up to Snape's desk. Pepper heard Snape tell Malfoy he'd done a good job and she glared at the back of Malfoy's evil gelled head.  
  
"You know Malfoy," she said when he'd returned to the table. "I didn't get to tell you last night that I'm glad to see you're in the House of the Great Ugly Gits, I'm sure they really needed a mascot before you came along." Pepper then walked back over to Hermione's table, where she was just finishing her potion with Pansy Parkinson, another evil Slytherin.  
  
"You weren't flirting with Draco, were you?" Parkinson asked her with narrowed eyes.  
  
"Yes, of course I was," Pepper answered sarcastically. "He's just so hot I couldn't resist."  
  
Parkinson stuck her nose in the air in disgust and poured her potion into a vial unsuccessfully, as she was still glaring at Pepper. "Parkinson, watch it," said Hermione, grabbing the cauldron and vial away from her partner. With a haughty sigh Parkinson walked back over to Malfoy, flinging herself on him.  
  
"Oh, Draco," Pepper heard her exclaim, "Wasn't it so HORRIBLE working with a Mudblood!"  
  
"What's a Mudblood?" Pepper asked Hermione quietly.  
  
"A very rude term for someone of no magical background, like me," Hermione answered, cleaning up her work area.  
  
"Oh," Pepper said. Wait, she thought, I'm not a Mudblood! I'm PUREblood! "Is that how Slytherins decide if someone's okay or not – by their blood line?"  
  
"Mostly, though Malfoy's father doesn't like Mr. Weasley so even though Ron's Pureblood Malfoy doesn't like Ron. It's probably because they're poor."  
  
"I see, so do you think Malfoy would think the same of me if he new I was Pureblood?" Pepper asked, glancing over at Malfoy and Parkinson.  
  
"Class dismissed," Snape announced. The students picked up their supplies and filed out of the room.  
  
On their way to Gryffindor Tower to drop of their books, the two continued their conversation. "It can't be that you're poor," Hermione said in answer to Pepper's question. "But he may hate you because you're a Gryffindor."  
  
"And that I'm willing to talk back to him."  
  
"And you're friends with the three of us. Let's see," Hermione began, thinking, "he hates me because I'm not Pureblood, Ron because he's poor, Harry because he's famous...we all talk back to him on occasion...and we're all in Gryffindor. Though we're not sure if he hates you, now are we?" Hermione cocked an eyebrow.  
  
"You know, Hermione, you could be the hot enemy Malfoy hates but secretly lusts for," Pepper said, nodding knowingly.  
  
"What?" Hermione laughed.  
  
"Yep, everyone needs one of those...well, most people anyway."  
  
"Do you, then?"  
  
"I might, but I wouldn't know, really, I've never had any enemies, except demons, and you can't secretly lust for them. Well, I guess you could, my Aunt Phoebe did, that wasn't really secret though, they did that right in public, but...anyway! Back to me – I've never really had any enemies, I'm still giving Malfoy the chance to make peace with me."  
  
"Fat chance. Unless you go up to him and ask him if you'll be his friend or whatever you want him to be then he won't even speak to you except to make a rude comment," said Hermione. "But, before you do," she began again as she saw Pepper open her mouth, "take a few days, or at least a few classes with the git, so you can get to know him a little better, observe what he does. It'll give him a right scare if you do do that, though."  
  
"Ooh!" Pepper suddenly exclaimed, slapping her forehead with the heel of her hand. "I didn't talk to Professor Snape about my catching up!"  
  
"Talk to him on Wednesday, we have him then."  
  
Following lunch was Charms, (which Pepper liked because it was the first time she actually got to use her wand), and then they had Care of Magical Creatures. Harry, Ron and Hermione seemed to be friends with the teacher of Care of Magical Creatures, and before class introduced him to her. He was a large person, at least twice the size of a regular full-grown man, with a large black beard.  
  
"Pepper, this is Hagrid," Harry said.  
  
"I'm Pepper Halliwell," said Pepper.  
  
"Nice ter meet ya," Hagrid said.  
  
They had Care of Magical Creatures with the Slytherins, too, and, taking the advice of Hermione, Pepper observed Malfoy's behavior to see if he was worth having as not-quite-an-enemy. She did want to show him he wasn't the boss of anyone, just because he was Pureblood, even if she did just do it for her friends' sake. She was Pureblood, too, and she wasn't the boss of anyone, she knew that.  
  
Pepper watched as he pushed the other kids out of the way, trying to get closer to what they were studying. He made rude remarks and made fun of the way Hagrid taught. Pepper wondered briefly if he wrote down what he was going to say in preparation for the right moment to say it. Surely he couldn't come up with all the material he did on the spot. And Harry had said he'd been doing this for five years?  
  
Watching him do that, she was ready to have a go at him right then and there, but thought better of it. She figured if all of these people could survive Malfoy's taunts and rude comments for as long as they had, she could do it for a few more days. Pepper just couldn't stand watching people being picked on, especially when they'd done nothing.  
  
She found her thoughts (and her eyes) drift over to Harry who was standing there paying rapt attention and taking notes. She then realized that she should be taking notes and paid more attention to the lecture Hagrid was currently giving.  
  
After dinner Pepper wrote a letter back to her aunts and one to Mrs. Weasley in thanks. With Harry's help she made it up to the Owlery and to send her two letters away.  
  
"So did you like your first day?" Harry asked as she tied the letters to the owl's foot.  
  
"Yeah, except maybe for Potions."  
  
"Pairing with Malfoy must've blown."  
  
"Yep," Pepper answered, laughing. "It sure did. I wanted so much to prove to Professor Snape and Malfoy that I could do it, that I wouldn't screw up, but Snape found something wrong. Plus, I didn't know half of the ingredients we were using."  
  
"That's alright, I'm sure you'll catch on quick enough."  
  
"Especially cos I've got to make up, like, all the work you've done. I have to see all the teachers individually so they can see if I'm caught up."  
  
"Eesh, you'll probably have to take your O.W.L.S. then," Harry grimaced.  
  
"O.W.L.S.?"  
  
"Ordinary Wizarding Levels. They're exams. I'm sure Hermione will tell you all about them if you ask her."  
  
"I'm sure...so how do you deal with all of this homework?"  
  
"Most of it's not due till at least Wednesday...Hermione usually helps me and Ron with it. We go to the library...write it...hand it in."  
  
"Where's the library?" Pepper asked.  
  
"Want me to show you?" So, Harry led Pepper to the Hogwarts library.  
  
"It's huge," Pepper gasped. She ran her fingers over some of the dusty book spines. "There must be a hundred thousand books in here. This is amazing."  
  
"I'm willing to bet there's more than that."  
  
"I could spend weeks in here."  
  
"I think you and Hermione are going to be great friends," Harry smiled. "You could just come in here and read and read. I don't know how people are able to do that."  
  
"Don't you like to read?" Pepper asked, looking at Harry.  
  
"Not so much..."  
  
"Shame," Pepper said, shaking her head. "Too bad I didn't bring any of my books, I could get started on my homework – I know it's going to take me a while."  
  
"Well we could go back up the common room, get it, and come back down," Harry suggested. "As long as we're up in the Tower by curfew, we've got all the time in the world."  
  
"How late is curfew?"  
  
"Three hours."  
  
Pepper laughed a little. "Alright, so we have three hours, sounds good to me. As long as I don't have to go anywhere by myself, I'm fine, otherwise I'll get lost. How do you know where everything is?"  
  
"Well," Harry began once they were out of the library, "it comes from walking around the castle so much. I learned where all my classes are pretty quickly. I also have this handy map...it's called the Marauder's Map," Harry said, dropping his voice considerably. "It shows you a map of the castle and everyone in it and where they're located."  
  
"Forget homework, I want to see that," Pepper said excitedly. "Where'd you get it? Sounds like something everyone would like to have."  
  
"Weasley twins," Harry explained. "They got it from Filch – he's the caretaker – they got it from his office. Their first year, is what they said. They gave it to me so I could get to Hogsmede because my aunt and uncle wouldn't sign the permission form. It gave me seven ways to get out of the castle, rather helpful really."  
  
Neither of them said much on the way back to Gryffindor Tower, Pepper was once again trying to memorize the way to get there and Harry was lost in his own thoughts. When they arrived in the common room Harry quickly went up to his dormitory, dug in his trunk and found the map. He went back to the common room where he pulled Pepper into a corner so no one could see what they were doing. "I solemnly swear I'm up to no good," Harry murmured.  
  
Ink suddenly appeared on the map. "Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs?" Pepper wondered aloud.  
  
"In other words my dad and his friends. Moony was Remus Lupin, whom I'm sure you'll get to meet, Wormtail was Peter Pettigrew...who...who betrayed my parents and tried to kill me..." at this Harry's voice faltered a bit. "Padfoot," he continued, "was your dad and Prongs was my dad. They were best friends, have I told you? That's why Sirius was my godfather." There was a moment of silence before Harry went on. "Anyway, this is the map." He unfolded the map until he found where Gryffindor Tower was. "See, there we are," he told Pepper, pointing to two dots in the corner of the common room. They were labeled 'Pepper Halliwell-Black' and 'Harry Potter.'  
  
"That's awesome!" Pepper said. "So you can see what anyone in the castle is doing?" Harry nodded. "You know, you could really creep some people out with this..."  
  
"You mean like seeing where someone is then sending them an owl that says 'I know you were in the Charms room at ten fifteen?'" Harry asked.  
  
"Exactly," Pepper said.  
  
"You know, I've thought of that, then I realized someone could track it down and figure out I have this map and then...well, it would be confiscated and I'd get in a lot of trouble. I'd rather just use it for personal things."  
  
"I see...well, I'm going to grab my homework stuff, if you'd still like to go down to the library..."  
  
"Sure," Harry said, "I'll grab by things, too." 


	9. Chapter 8: The Jealously of Hermione

A/N: Thanks to my reviewers, I'm so glad I actually HAVE reviews!  
  
charmedsisters: (First off, thanks for reviewing, like, every chapter.) If you'll recall in a chapter a while back when they were fighting the demon Pepper could FREEZE it and THROW THINGS at it (she got Prue's power when she died) and in the bookstore with Hermione she could DEFLECT the book. I haven't revealed her fourth power yet, but I will in time....  
  
Stephanie: What makes you think Pepper and Malfoy are going to hook up? Though, it could happen...anything is possible in my mind :-)  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
Chapter 8  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
"Today's the day," Pepper announced to Harry, Ron and Hermione at breakfast on Friday. Her first week at Hogwarts was over and tomorrow was the day she was to meet with three of her teachers, Sunday she'd meet with three more and her free periods next week were filled with meeting the other professors.  
  
"What day?" Ron asked, brandishing a piece of toast at Pepper.  
  
"Don't tell me your actually going to do that, Pep," Hermione said.  
  
"Yep," said Pepper. "I'm tired of watching, it's time he gets a taste of his own medicine."  
  
"What are you doing?" Harry asked.  
  
"She's making a peace offering with Malfoy," Hermione answered.  
  
"Not exactly a peace offering," Pepper corrected, "I'm just going to go up to him and ask him what his problem is, see how it goes from there. I mean, he really has no logical reason to dislike anyone he does, so I want to see why he hates everyone."  
  
"Cause he's Malfoy," Ron told her. "He doesn't really need a reason other than his father has power and he was raised to hate every that isn't...well...him."  
  
"Too bad," Pepper said. She watched as Malfoy got up from the Slytherin table, (followed by Crabbe and Goyle with Pansy Parkinson attached to him), and exited the Great Hall. Pepper got up and followed a little farther behind him. Once she got out of the Great Hall, she figured she was all right to confront him. "Hey Malfoy," she called.  
  
He stopped and turned around to face her. "What?" he scowled. "Come to ask me on a date, Halliwell?"  
  
"You wish," Pepper said. "No, I was just wondering what your problem is."  
  
"I don't have a problem, though you're going to have one in a minute if you don't back off." She saw Crabbe and Goyle crack their muscles threateningly.  
  
"Sure, anyway, you do have a problem. I'd like to know why you hate everyone who's not Pureblood."  
  
"She's just saying that to get you, Draco," Pansy Parkinson said. "Mudblood scum," she added to Pepper.  
  
"For your information," Pepper said, "I'm Pureblood, not Muggle born, thank you very much. But, I wasn't talking to you I was talking to Malfoy. So, Malfoy, it was just a topic of interest to me why you have to be a rude bastard."  
  
"Bitch," Malfoy muttered before turning on his heel and walking away.  
  
"Fine! Be a coward then!" Pepper called after him, though she couldn't think of why he was a coward.  
  
"That worked, didn't it?" said a familiar voice from behind her. Pepper whirled around to see Ron, Harry, Hermione and Ginny standing there.  
  
"Well at least he learned I'm a Pureblood," Pepper said, shrugging.  
  
"And that matters because...?" Ron asked.  
  
"He won't have his arm growth calling me a Muggle born any more," Pepper answered, referring to Parkinson.  
  
"Come on, we've got to get to Transfiguration," Hermione told them, rushing up the marble staircase in the entrance hall.  
  
That night Harry took his Firebolt and his broom maintenance kit down to the common room to fix it up. Hermione was lounging in a chair finishing up a report due next week and Pepper and Ron were sitting in front of the fire, Ron teaching Pepper how to play Wizards Chess. Pepper jumped every time a chess piece smashed another piece. Ron kept laughing and then getting frustrated with her.  
  
"She's not going to beat you anyway, Ron," Harry said, pulling out polishing supplies, "You're too good at chess."  
  
"Well she could at least stop JUMPING!" Ron exclaimed as Pepper jumped again when his queen knocked out one of her pawns.  
  
"Sorry," Pepper apologized, "It just surprises me every time. Ooh, Harry, that's your broom?" Pepper asked, suddenly seeing Harry's Firebolt.  
  
"Yea," Harry answered. "It's a Firebolt. Second best broom on the market."  
  
"Cool," Pepper said, abandoning the chess game and going over to sit next to Harry's broomstick on the floor.  
  
"Hey," said Ron, "What about the game?"  
  
"Does Quidditch start soon?" Pepper asked Harry, ignoring what Ron had said.  
  
"I'm hoping practice will start soon, I think it's in three weeks or so," said Harry.  
  
"Can I come to your practices, I'm interested to see how Quidditch works. I want to learn to fly, too."  
  
"I can take you on my broom, after practice starts," Harry said. "Not alone, in case you're really bad and you crash and it breaks."  
  
"Sounds good," Pepper said happily. "Now I'll finish the game Ron."  
  
Saturday was a day that Pepper had been dreading and it came all too quickly. She woke up early and had to make her way through the castle alone, as her friends were still asleep. She found the entrance hall and exited the castle, heading towards Greenhouse 1 where she was to meet with Professor Sprout. She spent most of her morning there, the professor deciding she was well caught up but giving Pepper lots of work to do. Dragging her already heavy bag back into the castle she searched around for the Ancient Runes room.  
  
Pepper found she was mostly caught up in that subject, too, though she got work to do. By then it was time for lunch so she made her way down to the Great Hall with her bag, which was bursting with work. She sat down heavily at the table where most of Gryffindor was already sitting.  
  
"Where have you been?" Harry asked.  
  
"Meeting with teachers," Pepper answered, piling her plate with food. "I've got lots more work to do now. They think I'm mostly caught up, though. Said I learn really fast. Gave me work to practice on, just in case. I was wondering if perhaps you'd give me a hand Hermione..."  
  
"If you mean do some of it for you than, no, I will not," Hermione replied briskly.  
  
"Nice try, Pepper, but we ask all the time. Hermione's not one for cheating," Ron told Pepper.  
  
"It's not cheating, it's...okay, it's cheating," Pepper admitted. "But I already have a lot of work to do and – "  
  
"And, you'll have to learn to get it all done," said Hermione.  
  
"Fine," Pepper sighed. "I have two weeks to get my extra work done, anyway."  
  
"Have you been to see Snape yet?" Harry asked. Pepper shook her head. "He'll probably give you a week, knowing him."  
  
Pepper noticed Harry had been right about what Snape would do, he did indeed only give her one week to do the work, and he'd given her much more work than any of the other teachers had. She also found that Professor Snape quite enjoyed pairing her and Malfoy together in class. He did it every chance he got, which was a lot. She always thought of a smart-aleck comment, sometimes a flirtatious one, but Malfoy always came back with something or made her look bad in front of Snape. Ever since she'd said something to him about his attitude he'd been especially nasty to her. As hard as she tried, she just couldn't beat him, though she'd caught him off his guard a few times.  
  
Pepper excelled quickly in her classes, competing against even Hermione, who was supposed to be the smartest witch in the school. Hermione became jealous, even after she and Pepper had spent numerous hours together, studying, reading and talking.  
  
"I'm sorry if I'm making you jealous, Hermione, but it's not my fault if I'm good in class," Pepper said.  
  
"I'm not jealous," Hermione answered huffily. "I just..."  
  
"She's wondering how you got so ahead in class, when it took her six years to be this good," Ron finished for Hermione.  
  
"Ron," Hermione said, offended. "I just-well, I guess I am jealous," Hermione finally admitted. Then she turned on her heel and walked back up to the dormitory.  
  
"Good job, Pepper," Ron scowled, and followed Hermione. She heard him banging on the dormitory door.  
  
Pepper sighed. She hadn't meant to make Hermione mad or jealous. She supposed she could just tone it down a little in classes...not raise her hand so much and get herself noticed...She really wanted to keep her friends.  
  
The next day in Transfiguration when Professor McGonagall asked questions had come to expect Pepper to answer, Pepper didn't even raise her hand. She just stared down at her book, trying to look puzzled and pretending not to know the answer. Hermione's hand, however, shot up.  
  
Throughout the whole class and for the rest of the day Pepper didn't answer a single question. Hermione did not say anything to Pepper until dinner, when she was too curious to hold it in any longer. "Pepper?" she said cautiously.  
  
Pepper thought that Hermione, Ron and Harry had been avoiding her all day because they'd been pissed at her but the tone Hermione spoke in was careful. Pepper looked up at Hermione across the table. "Yes?" she asked emotionlessly.  
  
"I was wondering why you haven't been answering questions in class today," Hermione said.  
  
"I didn't know the answers," Pepper answered, looking down at her food; she wasn't very good at lying.  
  
"Pepper, I know you knew the answers. And if you were just doing it so I would be your friend again, don't. It may take me a while to get over you being as good, maybe even better than me, but I will eventually. I think I'm still your friend...but...my jealously is getting in the way. I'll admit, it's making me mad, too. So even though I may be mad at you, keep being you and I'll tell you when I'm ready to accept I'm not the best anymore..." Hermione's words trailed off.  
  
Pepper thought that Hermione was taking this a lot different than anyone else would. Hermione admitted what was wrong with her and what was getting in the way of their new friendship and she'd tell Pepper when she wasn't mad anymore...when she wasn't jealous. She told Pepper not to change, that Hermione would adjust.  
  
Ron, however, kept glaring at Pepper between bites, like he'd been doing all day. Harry didn't seem to know what to do. Pepper knew he felt loyal to his old friends, and he was on their side, (of course he was, Pepper thought), but he kept looking at Pepper helplessly, as if he wanted to say something to her.  
  
Briefly, Pepper wondered if this was the end of her friendship between her and Harry, Ron and Hermione, even though they'd only been friends for two and a half weeks. She didn't dwell on the thought long, though, she didn't want to think about it. It was too painful to even fathom. She decided to skip the rest of dinner to go do homework and then write a letter to her aunts.  
  
A week hadn't cured Hermione's jealously. Pepper felt lonelier and lonelier as the days wore on. Every day when she let her mind wander her thoughts always drifted to the bedroom drawer at home where she kept her razor blade. She supposed that if she told the three of them she was thinking about doing, they'd be back to being her friends in a minute. They wouldn't be real friends, though, they'd still be mad at her. Actually, Pepper thought, I don't know if they'd do that...were they really that good of friends? Would they rush to her when they realized she was hurting herself? When they found out she was depressed?...Pepper shook the thought.  
  
She kept getting those glances from Harry, and Ron seemed to get angrier each class when Pepper was still answering questions. Hermione just seemed to be avoiding Pepper, and hadn't said anything to her since the day she explained her feelings to Pepper.  
  
The only people that didn't seem to be too mad were Neville Longbottom, who'd become a friend of Pepper's over the last three and a half weeks, Ron's sister Ginny, who would still talk to Pepper occasionally, and Luna Lovegood, who didn't seem very fazed at all by Pepper being smarter than Hermione.  
  
Walking alone to Potions a couple days later, Pepper saw Ron approach her, breaking away from Harry and Hermione. He walked in front of her, cutting her off and making her stop. She looked him in the face, puzzled until she saw his face and ears were very red, almost the shade of his hair, and he looked pretty angry.  
  
"Do you do that on purpose, just to embarrass Hermione?" He said loudly. She wasn't sure what he was talking about. They'd been giving her the silent treatment for a little over a week now, why bring it up today? "You answer all those questions, when she could answer them just as well. You don't even give her a chance! Trying to be the Professors' favorite, are you? Well you've succeeded! Are you happy now!" His voice grew with each word and Harry and Hermione finally reached the two of them – Pepper not saying a word, and Ron saying too many of them.  
  
"Ron!" Hermione gasped. "It's not your problem!"  
  
"Since you won't say anything, I will!" Ron shouted back at her. "She needs to be told this, don't you want to make her feel bad! After what she's DONE to you! You've been laughed at!" Hermione ducked her head.  
  
That caught Pepper's attention. She didn't know Hermione was being laughed at. Though she supposed that made sense as Hermione had been the best witch in the school, (or so everyone said), for the past five years.  
  
"I-I'm sorry, Hermione," Pepper stuttered. "I didn't know you were being made fun of."  
  
"It doesn't..." Hermione began, but never finished. Pepper guessed she was going to say "It doesn't matter," but since it did matter she couldn't say it.  
  
"It does matter, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to do this," Pepper said, and walked off, tears pricking at her eyes, head down.  
  
She didn't go to Potions, she wasn't sure she could deal with Malfoy's snide comments right now. She went up to Gryffindor Tower, past the common room and up to her dorm room. Not surprisingly, no one was anywhere around – they'd all be in Potions – so Pepper flopped down on her bed. She was beginning to wish she'd brought the contents of her desk drawer with her...but she'd been trying to wean herself from it. She rolled over and spotted Hermione's bed. Her Astronomy book was lying open, unfinished homework sprawled over the bedspread. And then Pepper's eyes landed upon something else - the compass Hermione used for measuring the distance between constellations. It was sitting there calling to her.  
  
She stood up, going to the door and looking out into the hallway to make sure no one was there. From the doorway, she pointed her hand at the compass and by curling her fingers the compass flew towards her. She caught it in her hand and, holding the pencil between her fingers, twirled it around. Deciding her course of action she walked purposely towards the bathroom. She closed the door behind her and placed the compass on the marble counter. After pushing up the sleeves of her robe she picked up the compass once again.  
  
Pepper's hand touched the cold metal tool to her exposed white flesh, pausing for a minute before she slid it along her forearm. A few more tears fell from her eyes but she didn't stop her movement until she heard a voice coming from close by.  
  
"Pepper?" It was a familiar voice. Harry's. "Pepper, where were you in Potions?" She heard footsteps on the stone stairs leading to the girls' dorms.  
  
Moving quickly, she wrapped her arm in toilet paper and pulled her robe back down over the wounds. Wiping the few stray tears from her face and splashing her face in cold water she walked out of the bathroom towards the calling voice. She threw the compass on Hermione's bed and exited the dorm. Pepper ran into Harry halfway through the hall, knocking both of them to the floor.  
  
"Ow," Pepper moaned, moving her arm up to the back of her head before realizing her robe sleeve was coming up, revealing the toilet paper that was now stained with blood.  
  
Harry pulled her up by her injured arm, causing her to recoil in pain. "What's wrong?" Harry asked. "Aren't you coming to lunch?"  
  
Pepper felt a tear escape from her eye from the shooting pain in her arm. She lifted her hand to wipe her face when Harry noticed the bloody tissue on her arm. He knitted his eyebrows in confusion and got on his knees to be closer to Pepper.  
  
"Is your arm alright?" he asked.  
  
"Me and my arm are just fine," Pepper answered, getting to her feet and storming down the stairs and going to lunch.  
  
Not wanting to face Harry when he came down after her she went over to the Ravenclaw table and sat next to Luna Lovegood. Luna barely acknowledged her presence; she just nodded towards Pepper as if to ask 'how are you' before turning back to her meal. Pepper sighed in relief when she saw Harry come down and sit at the Gryffindor table, not even looking for her. Pepper was scared that Harry might put the puzzle pieces together; the bloody tissue, her skipping Potions, the story she'd told him about cutting herself before... Then she wondered why Harry even came looking for her when he hadn't said more than five words to her in the past week and two days.  
  
Was he trying to say Hermione was over her jealously? Or was he just worried about me, Pepper wondered. Either way, she liked the fact that someone still knew she was alive.  
  
"They're still not talking to you," Luna suddenly said as a statement rather than a question.  
  
"Actually, Harry just came looking for me because I wasn't in Potions," Pepper replied.  
  
"I'm not sure why you really want that girl as a friend, but if you give her time she'll get over it. She can't stay mad at you forever," Luna told her, choosing to ignore Pepper's comment beforehand.  
  
That night in the common room Pepper tried to avoid Harry by going up to the girls' dormitory, but he caught her before she could escape. "Pepper," he said, putting his hand on her shoulder as she was heading up the stairs. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"  
  
Pepper turned around and went back down the stairs. "Yes?" she said, trying to sound innocent.  
  
"About earlier today..." he began.  
  
"Harry, I was wondering why you even talked to me earlier, and why you're doing it now," Pepper said before he could continue.  
  
"I was worried about you," he said. "I was wondering where you were, since you weren't in Potions."  
  
"I wasn't feeling too well," Pepper said. "I just came up here to rest. I had a headache and my stomach hurt, it's no big deal. Just forget about it and go back to not talking to me." She turned back around to go up the stairs again but Harry started talking again.  
  
"Pepper," he said quietly, "I don't think it was just that. Why was your arm bloody then?"  
  
"I scraped it, that's all," she said before going up to her dormitory and leaving Harry standing there, knowing it was more than that. 


	10. Chapter 9: Powerful Findings

A/N: Alrighty, here is the next chapter! I'm really skeptical about whether I should continue this story, I've only got 13 reviews, and a lot of them are from charmedsisters...so I'm not really sure...Please review, readers, I much appreciate it and it will make me keep the story up.  
  
!!!!!!!!!!  
  
Chapter 9  
  
!!!!!!!!!!  
  
Pepper bled more than once that September as she watched Harry, Ron and Hermione's friendship. Hermione had begun being cordial to Pepper once again, though she wasn't near as friendly as she had been, and Harry was talking to her by the last week of the month, but Ron wouldn't say a word to her.  
  
The Ravenclaw table had become a favorite spot of Pepper's, she didn't sit at the Gryffindor table anymore at mealtimes, and Luna was having conversations with her. Pepper once wondered briefly if it was against the rules to do this, but if it was, then no one said anything to her.  
  
Her teachers informed her that she needed to start studying for her O.W.L.S., for she was to take them next month. They gave her all the materials she needed, and a few times she was glad she didn't have any friends because she spent all her free time studying.  
  
She wrote to her aunts about most of the things that were happening and they replied. She had a great desire to talk to her mother or father, and when she realized she couldn't do that, she cried for hours at a time and sometimes tried to relive that pain, too. The scrapbook of her mother's and the picture of her mother and father she had in her bedside table drawer helped her from not running away or finishing her life, but it didn't keep her from the compass.  
  
One afternoon at the start of a free period, Pepper was in the common room when Professor McGonagall, the Head of Gryffindor House, walked in and came over to her. "Excuse me, Miss Halliwell," the old witch said, addressing Pepper.  
  
Pepper looked up from her book. "Yes, Professor McGonagall?"  
  
"Professor Dumbledore would like to see you and Mr. Potter in his office," the Professor informed her.  
  
While Pepper put her books away Professor McGonagall went and pulled Harry away from his talk with his two best friends. She then left the common room, telling the two to go straight there, and that Pepper knew the password. So, Harry and Pepper started the long, and uncomfortable, walk to Dumbledore's office. Harry thought about saying something a few times, but never opened his mouth. Pepper, however, didn't want to say anything; she was just worried about what the Headmaster wanted.  
  
"I'm not mad," Harry said finally. "I think I was at first, but then it wore off... but I'm loyal to Hermione, she's been one of my best friends for a while..."  
  
"You're not mad," Pepper repeated. "You haven't been mad for a while. You- you..." She wanted to say "You made me hurt myself for no reason, then," but she didn't.  
  
"No, I haven't been mad for a while. I think I may have gotten used to you being smart, a part of me says it's good to have someone outdo Hermione, though don't tell her I said that," he said.  
  
"You – " Pepper couldn't get the words out of her mouth. She wanted Harry to know he'd caused her pain. So much pain she had to inflict more on herself. She wanted to cry and scream and hit him.  
  
"I'm not so sure Hermione's too jealous or miffed anymore either," Harry continued. "I think she just wants to be. She's just so used to being the best."  
  
Pepper's fists clenched. Hermione wasn't mad either and hadn't been. For how long hadn't she been mad? Since before the last time Pepper used her own compass to carve her arm? Or had it been since before that, when Pepper took the metal point to her torso? Pepper suddenly wanted to cause them as much pain as they caused her. She waved her hand sideways at Harry and watched as he stopped walking in mid-step. Satisfied that he would be frozen for a while, she headed towards the raven statue by herself. She said the password and waited patiently for the spiral staircase to appear before climbing to the top of it and entering the Headmaster's office. "Hello, Professor Dumbledore," she said as she walked in.  
  
He looked up from his desk and smiled at her. "Aah, Miss Halliwell. Where is Mr. Potter?" he asked.  
  
Pepper hadn't even thought about what the Headmaster would do when he found out she froze Harry. Though, she supposed he should be unfrozen by now. "I...um..." Pepper began. "I got mad at him and...I froze him with my natural power."  
  
Dumbledore looked slightly amused before saying, "Miss Halliwell could I ask you not to freeze any of the students, or the teachers for that matter. You see, you have an advantage over them, as you have natural powers."  
  
"Yes, Headmaster," Pepper said dejectedly. "It's just – "  
  
Dumbledore waited for her to continue, but her words disappeared in her mouth. "Yes, Miss Halliwell?" he prompted. "Was there something you'd like to say?"  
  
Pepper shook her head. "Never mind, I'll just go find Harry then, and we'll come back together," she said, and turned to leave the office. She didn't have to walk far, as Harry was just at the end of the corridor. "Where'd you go?" he asked, puzzled. Pepper didn't answer him, she was afraid of what would come out of her mouth when she opened it, so she just fell in step with Harry until they reached the statue again. The password was said and they climbed the stair, arriving in the office once again.  
  
The old wizard motioned for them to sit, and so they did, facing his desk and waiting for what he had to say. "I'm as Harry already told you, Miss Halliwell, he's been up against Lord Voldemort, who is determined to take over the wizarding world for the second time. Harry might have also told you about the Prophecy in which either he or Voldemort must perish."  
  
Harry wondered why he was here, if Dumbledore was just telling Pepper things Harry already knew, and that he'd told Pepper.  
  
"Harry, you may believe you shall face Voldemort again this year, in which case I think you will be correct in believing, and that your friends will once again be by your side. Miss Halliwell will be included in your group, as you also may suspect. One thing I'm sure neither of you are aware of is that Miss Halliwell possesses great power."  
  
Both Pepper and Harry were shocked by this news. Pepper questioned how she could have so much power when she didn't even know about it. Her aunts had never told her anything...She didn't think either of her parents had been all that powerful...  
  
"Now Miss Halliwell, I'm sure you are wondering why you acquire so much power, so I will tell you to the best of my ability. I believe that it is because your mother was a very strong witch, being a "Charmed" one, and though your father did not wield too much power, he was in a powerful Pureblood family and with you having blood from two different magical "worlds," shall we say, your strength was doubled. As a result, when you face Voldemort, you shall face him together, and hopefully you will be victorious." Dumbledore paused for a minute, giving the two students time to process this information. "To make sure you are both fully prepared, you shall be getting extra Defense Against the Dark Arts lessons. You may talk to Professor Ardel to work out a schedule for these lessons. I believe you both have Herbology next, I will not keep Professor Sprout waiting. Good day," Dumbledore ended with a smile, dismissing Harry and Pepper.  
  
Once back into the corridor, on their way back to Gryffindor Tower, Pepper swore.  
  
"What's wrong?" Harry asked, but Pepper just swore some more. "What?" Harry repeated, only to be answered by more cursing. "What!"  
  
"Don't you even talk to me," Pepper responded, narrowing her eyes angrily and walking ahead of Harry. "I've got too much work to begin with, and now to learn I'm powerful and have extra lessons and more work! And you and your friends haven't been helping much, might I add. You know how shitty I feel right now? I don't know if I should have even come here to begin with." Pepper was surprised that those words had actually come out of her mouth. She realized that she'd been thinking them for some time now, but it was just something nagging at the back of her mind, she didn't think she really meant them. Perhaps she was just trying to make Harry feel guilty...  
  
"I'm sorry, Pepper...it's just you made Hermione mad and of course I had to be on her side...even if I didn't agree with her – "  
  
"But you did," Pepper said, cutting him off. "I know you did. That's alright," she lied, "I'd just wish you'd told me when you weren't mad anymore then I might not have..." She caught herself at the last minute.  
  
"Might not have what?" Harry asked, perplexity apparent in his tone.  
  
"I might not have..." Pepper tried to think quickly. "I might not have felt so lonely all this time." Harry didn't look too convinced, but didn't press the matter any more.  
  
By the beginning of October, Pepper and Harry became friends again, and Hermione was making conversations with Pepper. Even Ron began to talk to her, though it wasn't as much or as relaxed as before. Pepper bit her tongue every time she wanted to yell at one of them for making her hurt herself, and she didn't let any of it slip. They fell back into their old habits of friendship and Hermione once again helped Pepper with her large amount of work and studying for her O.W.L.S. Pepper started to perk up and she didn't even think about her compass for days, she was too focused on keeping her found again friends and studying.  
  
Harry set up a schedule for their extra Defense Against the Dark Arts lessons, (which they hadn't told anyone about), and they were to meet with Professor Ardel from one to two thirty in the afternoon every Sunday.  
  
Piper, Paige, Phoebe and Leo were writing Pepper excessively, wanting to know every excruciating detail of Hogwarts and Pepper's friends. Pepper told them almost everything, though she left out the part about the horrible fight, the overwhelming amounts of work and her self-mutilation. They made sure to remind her in every letter that she was coming home for Christmas, whether she liked it or not.  
  
"Pepper," Harry said that Friday night. "I've got my next Quidditch practice tomorrow, if you'd like to come."  
  
"Alright," Pepper said, looking up from her book. "What time? I'll have to set my alarm."  
  
"Seven A.M.," Harry said, sitting next to Pepper on the common room couch. "It's early for a Saturday, not that you haven't been getting up early anyways on the weekends with all that work..."  
  
"Not seven o' clock early, though. I'll still come, I want to see people flying on broomsticks, sounds...stereotypical."  
  
"Stereotypical?" Harry asked, eyebrow cocked.  
  
"Yea, you know how witches fly on broomsticks in books and television shows and things? Well, they don't exactly play Quidditch on them...but they fly on them. I just think it's cool that you can actually do that. I never thought you could fly on a broom. Could you take me on yours tomorrow?" Pepper asked after her ranting.  
  
"Yea, sure. That way you'll know if you should've bought that broom in Diagon Alley," Harry smiled. "So hopefully you'll hate it. Oh, you know the first Hogsmede trip is next weekend."  
  
"I'm not sure if I'll be able to go, I've still got a lot of work to do."  
  
"Oh come on, it'll be fun. You need to give yourself a break Pepper you deserve one. I don't know if I've ever seen anyone work as hard as you've been for three weeks straight," Harry prompted. "Please?" he added with a slight pout.  
  
"We'll see," Pepper laughed. "Just don't pout ever again," she said and got up to go to her dormitory. "Meet you here at six thirty!"  
  
"Six thirty," Harry confirmed. Pepper saluted him then went made her way up the stairs to her dorm. She stopped at the door when she heard two voices inside. It was Lavender and Parvati.  
  
"I'm planning to ask him to go to Hogsmede with me tomorrow," a voice (Pepper guessed it was Lavender's, she'd learned to tell their voices apart in the past four weeks), came from inside the room.  
  
"You think he'll say yes?" came Parvati's voice.  
  
"I hope so," Lavender said.  
  
"But he's been ogling Pepper lately, don't you think? In classes he just stares at her and they've been flirting. What if he's asked her to Hogsmede already?" said Parvati.  
  
Me and Harry flirting? Pepper asked herself. No, she thought, we haven't been flirting. Does he really stare at me in class? And did he just ask me to Hogsmede? No, he couldn't have, Pepper reassured herself. He, Ron and Hermione go together, he was just inviting me along, right? Right.  
  
"You're not serious, are you Parvati?" Lavender asked from inside the dormitory, bring Pepper back to reality. "Why would he be interested in her? She's just a smart aleck bookworm."  
  
"I don't know," Parvati answered, "That's just what I've seen."  
  
Pepper decided this would be a good time to walk in, she didn't really want to hear anymore of this ludicrous conversation; it was confusing her. As the door squeaked open Lavender and Parvati shut up and pretended to be asleep.  
  
Pepper changed, set her alarm and then got into bed herself. She couldn't wait to get on a broomstick tomorrow. She'd never been higher off the ground then about three feet – when she was in her bed. And from what Hermione had told her about Harry and Quidditch, Pepper gathered that he was one of the best players in the school. Best Seeker on any of the four teams, by far, is what she gathered. He'd even beaten Malfoy – he was the Slytherin Seeker, Hermione said. Hermione told her he'd started playing on the Gryffindor team when he was in First Year and that was against the rules, but he'd been such a good flyer Professor McGonagall put him on the team. Ron was on the team, also, Pepper had heard. He was the Keeper and had won them the Quidditch Cup last year. Though Hermione said Ron wasn't nearly as good at flying as Harry was.  
  
With thoughts of flying, Pepper finally fell asleep.  
  
Her alarm woke her at six fifteen and begrudgingly she got out of bed and into the shower. Still half asleep, she got dressed and went down to the common room, where Harry and Ron were in their practice robes, standing with their brooms. "Hurry up," Ron urged as Pepper came down the stairs.  
  
"I'm coming," Pepper groaned, trying to stay awake.  
  
Harry and Ron led her down onto the Quidditch pitch, where the rest of the Gryffindor team was already waiting. "Pepper wanted to watch," Harry told the rest of the team. "Is that alright?"  
  
A girl with braids in her hair said it was okay if Pepper was to watch, as long as she didn't distract anyone. Harry whispered to Pepper that she was Angelina, the captain of the team.  
  
Pepper went and sat on the side of the pitch to watch the Quidditch practice. She didn't want to be in the way and didn't intend to be, just in case she wanted to come to future practices. The team mounted their brooms and the captain opened a crate that contained four balls. Everyone but Angelina pushed their feet off the ground, causing the brooms to rise. "Higher, Harry!" she girl called into the air as she pulled a tiny ball from the wooden crate. Harry rose higher into the air until Angelina opened her hand to let the ball go. Pepper caught sight of a tiny gold ball before it went zooming off. Angelina let the other balls go. Two flew straight into the air and two of the players went after the balls while she got on her broom with the fourth ball. Once she was in the air she began throwing the ball to other players. "Go Harry!" she yelled and Harry began flying very fast, Pepper assumed he was looking for the little gold ball.  
  
Angelina had Ron go to one end of the pitch where there were three circular hoops on poles. Then she and the other two people that weren't hitting the two black balls around began tossing the fourth ball back and forth and trying to get it through one of the hoops Ron was guarding. Pepper watched with great interest, thinking about how it would feel to be playing that. She couldn't wait to get on Harry's broom.  
  
She was brought back to her senses when Harry stopped his broom a few feet in front of her, though he was still in the air. "Seen the Snitch?" he asked.  
  
"You mean the little gold ball?" Pepper asked. He nodded. "Nope, sorry." Harry flew away again.  
  
So that's what he has to do, Pepper thought, catch that tiny ball. She was glad she wasn't a Seeker.  
  
An hour and a half later, Quidditch practice was over and the Gryffindor team landed on the ground, panting and out of breath. Pepper was ready with cups of water for them from the cooler by the shower room and she handed them each a glass when they approached the showers. Each of them panted their thanks and then went into the shower room or sat on the bench where the cooler was located. Pepper stood there, wanting to ask Harry if he could take her on his broom yet, but she thought he'd say something when he was ready to do that.  
  
"Let me take a shower then I'll take you flying," Harry said, finishing his water and heading off to shower.  
  
Over the next fifteen minutes the team dispersed and Harry finally came out of the showers. He picked up his broom and grabbed Pepper's hand, leading her out onto the middle of the field. "Put your leg over the broom..." he instructed her and she did so, getting on behind him. "Now hold on to me." She hesitantly put her arms around Harry's middle - that was her only choice since the broom handle wasn't very big. "Ready? We're going up," he said and gently kicked his feet off the ground.  
  
They rose a few feet in the air and gradually went higher. Pepper clutched on to Harry tighter as they rose higher and higher and finally Harry stopped the broom from moving. They were dangling thirty feet in the air, the wind pushing them a little. "Ready to fly?" Harry asked Pepper. She nodded and then said, "Yes," when she realized Harry couldn't see her nod.  
  
Harry leaned forward on the broom and they went forward in the air. He started out slowly so Pepper could get used to moving and then went faster. Pepper clutched Harry's middle but then relaxed her grip when she found she liked flying. She liked it a lot. "Can this thing go faster?" she asked Harry over the sound of rushing wind in her ears.  
  
"Of course," Harry said and made the broom accelerate.  
  
Pepper let out a squeak of glee. "This is great!" she exclaimed.  
  
"I know!" Harry yelled back.  
  
They flew around the Quidditch pitch for a good twenty minutes before Harry slowed down and finally landed. Pepper tumbled off the broom and tried to catch her balance, she still felt like she was moving. "That was so cool," she said. "Can I try riding it by myself?"  
  
Harry looked hesitant. "How about you ride in front but I'm still on the broom, just in case you're about to crash or something," he said.  
  
"Okay," Pepper said brightly. Harry handed her the broom and she mounted it, Harry getting on behind her. He held onto her waist lightly and she pushed her feet off of the ground. They shot up into the air. Pepper let out a squeal and Harry had to let go of her waist to pull the broom up a little, making it slow down and stop. "Sorry," Pepper squeaked out.  
  
"'S'all right," Harry said, though he was a bit frazzled himself. "Keep going, it's all right."  
  
Pepper tentatively leaned forward, causing the Firebolt to move. Harry helped her steer it and helped move it faster by putting his arms by her middle, his hands on top of hers. To do this, he had to move closer to her, and their faces were almost side-by-side.  
  
"I suck!" Pepper yelled.  
  
"I know!" Harry yelled back.  
  
"Meanie!" Pepper said.  
  
"Thanks!" Harry yelled, pushing the broom handle down so that the broom would travel back to the ground. They dismounted and Pepper caught her balance again.  
  
"I like flying," she concluded, "but I need practice at it."  
  
"You sure do," Harry answered, causing Pepper to chuckle a little bit. There was a stretch of silence, where neither could think of something to say and yet they didn't move. They just stood there, facing each other until Harry began to lean forward. Pepper started to lean in too, but thought better of it and turned her head away.  
  
"I-I think we should go back inside, I bet we can still catch breakfast," Pepper said nervously. The two walked back to the castle in silence, though they both opened their mouths more than once to say something, words failed them.  
  
They entered the Great Hall to find Ron and Neville at the Gryffindor table, eating and playing Wizard's chess. Pepper and Harry each sat on a different side of Ron.  
  
"How was flying?" Ron asked Pepper as Neville took out one of his pawns.  
  
"Um...fun, but I'm not too good at it," Pepper answered.  
  
"We almost flew out of the atmosphere," said Harry with a slightly hollow laugh.  
  
"Well, I'm going to go back to the common room, I've still got loads of work to do," Pepper announced, getting up and making her way back to the common room.  
  
She found Hermione there, sitting at a table and doing her Arithmancy report. Hermione and the dozen or so others in the room looked up when they heard the portrait open but only Hermione waved to Pepper before turning back to her work. Pepper walked over and sat down next to Hermione. She debated telling the other girl about the incident with Harry in the Quidditch pitch, and then decided she needed to tell someone.  
  
"What's up?" Hermione asked, not looking up from her writing.  
  
"Can I ask you something important?" Pepper wondered. Hermione put down her quill and looked at Pepper.  
  
"Is something wrong?" she asked.  
  
"Sort of," Pepper said. "You know how I went to watch Quidditch practice this morning – " Hermione nodded. "– well, after everyone left Harry took me up on his broom and flew me around and I loved it. So then I asked if he would let me fly it, and he did, but I was horrible, so Harry helped me out a bit by...well, by getting closer to me, putting his hands on mine and putting his head right next to me...then we landed and we almost...he leaned in to...kiss me."  
  
Hermione's eyes went wide, and her mouth flopped open. "You didn't kiss him, did you?" she hissed.  
  
"No, I didn't. I turned my head away almost at the last minute. It was just so weird! Do you think he likes me?" Pepper asked confusedly.  
  
"He must fancy you, mustn't he? He tried to kiss you, Pepper, Ron hasn't even tried to do that to me. I wonder if I should try kissing him though, maybe then our relationship would actually get somewhere..." Hermione wondered. "Well, do you fancy Harry, then?"  
  
"I don't know," Pepper said. "I mean, I really like him, he's been a great friend the past month, he's helped me out a lot...showed me around and things, but I don't know if I have those kind of feelings for him. I think I should talk to him...see... I don't know, see something. Maybe I should kiss him and distinguish my feelings, if I like him as a friend or like him like..."  
  
"Fancy him," Hermione corrected. "That might be a good idea, though if you kiss him and he doesn't feel anything it might give him the wrong impression. Unless you explain to him, 'I'm going to kiss you just to see if I feel anything for you,' which I'm not sure will go over too well. I do think you should talk to him. Perhaps I'll talk to Ron, too. I really want something to happen with him. I know he fancies me and I fancy him so what's the problem? I don't think there is one, and if he's too scared to talk to me, then I'll talk to him," Hermione said, finishing the conversation with herself.  
  
"I wonder if Harry's told Ron," Pepper thought aloud.  
  
"Well we're about to find out," said Hermione, gesturing towards the common room entrance. "Here they come." Pepper and Hermione bent their heads back down, not wanting the boys to know they were discussing them.  
  
"What should I do?" Pepper whispered to Hermione. "There are too many people here to talk in private." She glanced around the room. "I could take him over to the couch, I suppose, it's not too crowded over there."  
  
"Go for it," Hermione whispered back. "I'm going to talk to Ron. Hey, I could take Ron over to the couch and, knowing Harry, he'll come over here to you, I'm sure he'll want to talk." Pepper nodded and Hermione got up, walking over to the two boys. Pepper saw the other girl lead Ron to the middle of the common room and Pepper beckoned Harry over shyly.  
  
Harry sat down in the chair next to Pepper and neither of them said anything for a while. Finally, Pepper said, "I suppose you told Ron, then."  
  
"Yes, and I guess you told Hermione," said Harry.  
  
Pepper smiled a bit and nodded. "Harry...I was wondering...what was that, out on the Quidditch pitch?"  
  
Harry didn't answer for a while. "I like you, Pepper," he said at last.  
  
"Harry, you're a great friend," Pepper began, "but I'm not sure if I feel that way about you..." She wanted to tell him she wanted to kiss him, just to see how she felt, but decided against it.  
  
"Oh," Harry muttered, looking at the table.  
  
"I'm not really sure how I can figure it out, either..." Pepper said. Except to kiss you, she though of saying again, but didn't.  
  
"I can think of a way," Harry said, and leaned in closer to Pepper's face. The last thing Pepper thought before Harry's lips met hers was, I'm glad I didn't have to say it.  
  
The kiss wasn't very deep, but Pepper enjoyed it and it was enough to make her realize she did, in fact, have feelings for Harry. Pepper was smiling when they both pulled away and she bit the side of her lip.  
  
"Is that a yes, then?" Harry asked.  
  
"I'd say so," Pepper said. "You know," she added, "I think you're my first crush. And that was my first kiss."  
  
"Really?" Harry asked, raising his eyebrows and smiling a sideways sort of smile. "That...well that wasn't mine," he finished lamely.  
  
"Kiss or crush?" Pepper asked.  
  
"Well...both," Harry said. "Would you like to go on a walk? Around the lake or something?"  
  
"I don't know," Pepper said, looking down at the table and picking at the finish with her fingernail. "I have got a lot of work to do..."  
  
"Oh come on," Harry prompted and for the first time Pepper realized that their conversation had gradually gotten quieter. They were now speaking in almost a whisper, as if they talked louder the moment would disappear.  
  
Suddenly, Lavender Brown stomped over, standing in front of Harry. "Excuse me," she said politely. "I was wondering if I could speak to you, Harry."  
  
"Yes, Lavender?" Harry said, moving his hand away from where it was – close to Pepper's.  
  
"I wanted to know if you'd like to go to Hogsmede with me," Lavender said.  
  
Harry looked slightly amused. "Uh...sorry Lavender, I'm uh..." he stole a glance at Pepper, who was looking at Harry in a roundabout way so Lavender wouldn't see. "...I'm sort of going with Hermione, Ron and...um...Pepper."  
  
Lavender narrowed her eyes. "Oh," she said curtly. "If you're sure then." She turned on her heel and was about to walk away when she coughed and Pepper could swear it sounded like Slut.  
  
"You are going, right? To Hogsmede," Harry said to Pepper.  
  
"Sure," said Pepper. "You know, we've got our first extra DADA lesson tomorrow. To tell you the truth, I'm sort of nervous."  
  
"Don't be," Harry reassured her. "I actually taught a DADA club last year, it was fun. Plus, I took extra lessons with Snape last year, that's the worst it can get. You'll be fine. Besides, I'll be right there with you, so you won't be in it alone."  
  
"Well thanks Harry. I guess I'll be hitting the books again, I've still got a lot of work to do. Thankfully I'm done with almost all of my makeup work but I'm taking the O.W.L.S. in three weeks, I've got to do a lot of studying. Hey...maybe Professor Ardel will give me a break..." she trailed off, wandering up the stone steps to the girls' dormitories. 


	11. Chapter 10: This Weird British Thing

A/N: I'm so happy I'm going to cry!!! SIX reviews for my most recent chapter! That's great, thank you to all who reviewed! Please keep it up!  
  
charmedsisters: I know you've been asking for Pepper's other power but I'm saving it until...well, until later. It's going to be a surprise to all...dundundun!  
  
Anyway, please keep reviewing everyone, it's very much appreciated!  
  
Enjoy!  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
Chapter Ten  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
Professor Ardel welcomed them into the empty classroom, smiling at Pepper's apprehensive face and Harry's determined one. "Shall we get started then?" he asked the two. He had the two of them stand on opposite sides of the room. "Now Pepper, I understand you have natural powers? Professor Dumbledore has told me that you can freeze things?"  
  
"Yes," Pepper said.  
  
"Are you aware of any blocking methods?" Ardel asked.  
  
"No, though strong demons can fight it off. So if I were to use it on Voldemort, depending on how strong he is, he might be able to fight it," Pepper responded.  
  
"Well, why don't you try it on Harry and I, see if we can fight it," the Professor suggested.  
  
Pepper and Harry were already aware Harry couldn't fight it off, though he hadn't known that he was going to be frozen the first two times, so he might show some resistance to it now. Pepper waved her hand nonchalantly at the room and everything moving froze in its place. The two other humans in the room plus all of Professor Ardel's gadgets stopped moving; leaving Pepper few reign of the classroom. She realized she could just leave right now and screw the lessons, but she was also interested in where the Professor was going with this. Pepper already knew she could freeze things, so was the point of this lesson to develop her powers more? Then why was Harry here?  
  
With another wave of her hand she unfroze the two, not wanting to stand and wait for them to unfreeze, as it could take forever. "There, I froze you," Pepper said, trying to keep the sarcasm out of her voice.  
  
"Can you unfreeze just Harry and myself?" Professor Ardel asked, wanting to show Pepper this lesson was going to go somewhere. "Or is that a part of your power you have not yet developed?"  
  
"I think I can," Pepper answered. She gestured with her hand and the room once again froze the two guys in the room. She then pointed at Professor Ardel and twitched her finger a bit to try and unfreeze him and it worked. The professor blinked and then looked around, a smile spreading on his face.  
  
"You've done it," he said. "Now can you do it to Harry, too?"  
  
Pepper's finger waved again at Harry and he moved. "Cool," he said, eyeing the still-frozen objects around the room. "This should work well against Voldemort. You could just freeze him, unfreeze all of us, and then we could destroy him!"  
  
"It may not be that easy, especially at this stage in Pepper's life," Professor Ardel said thoughtfully. "I'm sure, Pepper, that there have been times when your powers have not worked for you."  
  
"A few," Pepper answered.  
  
"I am assuming that that is because of all of the changes going on in you," Ardel told her. Pepper felt her face going red. "Also, we aren't sure of Voldemort's strength, he could just repel these powers. I'm sure they're not as developed as they could be. We should work on that," he said, turning to Pepper. "We could also work on Harry's fighting them, so he's not affected by them at all. That way, when you do freeze, say, a room with many people and try to unfreeze just a select few, if you're sure it won't work, you always have Harry there by you. It might take to much strength to unfreeze a load of Aurors in one room, so Harry can be fighting by you, or if you get into trouble he can help you."  
  
That didn't make much sense to either Pepper or Harry. (A/N: I'm not sure it makes sense to you guys either, my sentence structure there wasn't too good.)  
  
"So we'll just work on developing my freezing power and Harry's immunity to it?" Pepper asked, raising her eyebrow. "You know, I have other powers too, what about them."  
  
"Miss Halliwell, we will be doing much more than that while you and Mr. Potter meet with me. We do have a lot to cover if you're after Voldemort to destroy him," the teacher informed her.  
  
Walking out of that room an hour later, Pepper felt exhausted. Professor Ardel had had her freezing and unfreezing left and right and it drained a lot of her energy. Harry had made a bit of progress – the freezing didn't last as long on him – but Professor Ardel said they had time, and a little progress was good.  
  
Harry followed her out of the classroom and down the stone corridor. He, too, looked exhausted. "Great job in there," he said.  
  
"You too," Pepper responded. "I'm so tired, though. I never knew my power could take so much out of me."  
  
"Try being on the receiving end," Harry said. "That is one powerful... erm... power. I'm not even sure why Ardel wants me to be able to fight it. His explanation was beyond me."  
  
"Me too," Pepper laughed. "I don't know the point of doing any of that, my power isn't any stronger, I'm just tireder. Plus my other three powers aren't helped any by this nonsense...I want to do something different, something that might defend me, perhaps. Something new to me."  
  
Harry suddenly stopped. "New?" he repeated, grabbing her arm to stop her too. "How's this?" He pressed him mouth to hers, waiting for Pepper to get over her surprise and kiss him back. She did, and put her hands in front of her, on his chest, while his arms wrapped themselves around her waist. The kiss became a little more intense and Pepper groaned softly, smiling.  
  
Harry nipped Pepper's lip with his teeth, asking entrance to her mouth and she obliged, opening her mouth and letting Harry slip his tongue in. He felt himself being pushed backwards as Pepper backed him into the wall and let her tongue venture into Harry's mouth. (A/N: I'm not going into too much detail as A: I hate writing kissing scenes with tongue in them, actually I just hate writing the word 'tongue' (EWW!) and B: I've never experienced this, and I'm not sure I really care to.) As the kiss intensified Harry's hand wandered in the front of Pepper's robes and to the base of her shirt. Pepper didn't seem to notice, so he continued fingering the hem of her shirt.  
  
There was a loud gasp beside them and they broke apart, Pepper still in a slight daze. Lavender Brown was standing there, her mouth wide open in shock. "You-you," she stuttered at them. "PEVERT!"  
  
Harry removed his arms from around Pepper's waist. "We have to go, Lavender," he said quickly and, grabbing Pepper's hand, ran down the corridor.  
  
Harry and Pepper were laughing when they entered the Gryffindor common room and collapsed on the couch. Hermione and Ron, who were studying at a near by table, and half of the common room stared at them quizzically. Pepper and Harry did not even notice.  
  
"I feel sorta bad," Pepper said between giggles. "Poor Lavender, she really likes you, Harry. You should hear her talking about you in the dormitory. Harry this and Harry that and Pepper shouldn't go near Harry, he's mine. Quite annoying, really."  
  
"Really," Harry said amusedly as he leaned over and kissed Pepper's cheek. "I should've cleared it up for her then."  
  
"Harry!" they heard Ron exclaim as he came and stood before the two panting figures lying on the couch. "You – " he pointed to Harry, "and you – " he pointed to Pepper, "are...kissing," Ron finally finished.  
  
"Ron," Hermione laughed, coming over to join the three of them, "are you so thick that you didn't notice the two of them last night?"  
  
"Last night?" said Ron.  
  
"Yes, last night, thickhead," Hermione sighed. "I'm going to get back to my essay, Professor McGonagall wants it by Thursday and I'm not halfway done yet." Hermione went back to her essay, leaving Ron to mumble something under his breath and shake his head.  
  
"You know you fancy her, Ron," Harry muttered to Ron.  
  
Ron's face almost turned the color of his hair. "I do not," he said.  
  
"Sure..." Pepper said. "We can both tell, Ron. Why don't you just go for it and ask her to go to Hogsmede or something, that seems to be the hot spot around here."  
  
"I do not," Ron repeated and stalked away.  
  
Pepper and Harry sat up on the couch, both wearing expressions very close to smirks. "Hermione should give it a go," Pepper said. "She's more likely to say something then Ron, anyway. Well, I'm going to lie down, maybe do some studying... See you later, Harry." She got up and walked the short spiral staircase to her dorm, a smile spreading across her face as she recalled what happened with Harry in the hallway before Lavender caught them.  
  
She flopped down on her bed and stared at the ceiling, a sigh escaping her lips. Her eyelids began to close and she suddenly realized how tired she really was. The last conscious thought she had was, So I'm not just his friend...  
  
Pepper's eyes fluttered open as she heard a door bang and her bed curtains ripped back, revealing a fuming Lavender Brown. Standing close by and (also looking angry) was her best friend Parvati Patil.  
  
"You stole Harry!" Lavender exclaimed. "Haven't I told you to stay away from him! I've been after him since Fourth year, and then you come up and take him! Did you make a Love Potion? I bet you did, didn't you?!"  
  
"Lavender," Pepper said calmly, "I didn't do anything of the sort. Harry kissed me first. Why don't you go shout at him?"  
  
Lavender glared at Pepper before flipping her hair over her shoulder and leaving the dormitory, slamming the heavy door behind her. Pepper rolled her eyes. She didn't exactly want Lavender to be mad at her, but she wasn't really devastated either. Pepper wondered if Harry really hadn't had a clue about Lavender's crush on him, after all, she said it had been going on for two years...  
  
The door opened and in walked a frazzled Hermione. She sat heavily on the bed, her books tumbling to the floor. "What's up?" Pepper asked.  
  
"Ron," Hermione said, as if that answered everything.  
  
"What is it now? He hasn't asked you to Hogsmede, has he? That's what Harry and I suggested..."  
  
"No," Hermione chuckled sarcastically, "I wish that was it. He just...he's complaining and whining about the new relationship you and Harry have. I assured him it's better than Harry and his sister...but he just doesn't want to let his best friend or something...I'm so tired of it!"  
  
"I hope he makes SOME move...I told Harry you're more likely to do it first, and I know it's sort of sexist of me, but I think the guy should make the first move. It just seems more romantic that way, I suppose," Pepper said.  
  
"I want him to do something first, too," Hermione sighed. "But maybe I should say something, at least to stop him from being such a git."  
  
"It seems we've had this conversation before..." said Pepper. "Ron appears to be a very popular topic of conversation."  
  
"Appears so," Hermione agreed. "So, I take it Lavender is miffed at you? I could hear her yelling all the way down in the common room, and when she came down there she looked like she was going to go talk to Harry. He looked as if he might run away."  
  
"Yes, she came in and had a go at me, and I sent her to Harry, said he kissed me first. I think I'll have to apologize to Harry later," Pepper looked a bit frightened.  
  
"In the way I think you're thinking of?" Hermione inquired, raising a suggestive eyebrow.  
  
"Hermione!" Pepper exclaimed, tossing her pillow at Hermione. "I didn't know you had such a...dirty mind! Shame on you!"  
  
"Well..." Hermione said.  
  
"I think you should go talk to Ron," suggested Pepper. "Or at least give him a push in the right direction. Say something like, 'Harry and Pepper are going to Hogsmede together, so I'm sure they'll want nothing to do with us' – "  
  
"Hey!" Hermione protested. "You won't?"  
  
Pepper shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not. But anyway! Say something like that, suggesting you'd like to go with him, and see if that works."  
  
"Now?" Hermione asked nervously. "I don't know if I want to do it now...perhaps later in the week, when he hasn't made me angry," she decided. "Would you like to work on the Potions homework with me, I'm sort of stuck at one point."  
  
"Sure," Pepper said.  
  
After the homework was done, Pepper and Hermione did some talking, some O.W.L.s studying, and then Pepper decided she needed to go apologize to Harry. He was in the common room with Ron, sitting at one of the tables with books open in front of them, faces buried in their notes. Pepper took a chair next to Harry's.  
  
"Heard you got yelled at by Lavender," Pepper said. "Sorry, it was me how sent her to you, I said you kissed me first when she was having a go at me."  
  
"'S'all right," Harry said dully. "I was ready for it anyhow. Though she made it sound like I should have known she fancied me all along."  
  
"Well, Hermione and I are headed off to bed," Pepper announced, glancing behind her at Hermione, giving her a look that said 'talk to Ron!'. "So goodnight..." She stared pointedly at the top of Ron's head.  
  
"'Night," he mumbled before sticking his quill back in his mouth.  
  
Pepper sighed in exasperation. "'Night," she said. As she got up Harry pulled her arm back down and gave her a peck on the cheek.  
  
Hermione and Pepper returned to the dorm after everyone said their goodnights. "You know Pep, you and Harry make a really cute couple," Hermione pointed out.  
  
"You think so?" Pepper asked, pulling on her pajama top.  
  
"Absolutely," Hermione assured her friend, "You might consider yourself lucky, there are tons of girls besides Lavender after Harry. After all, he is the Boy Who Lived, who defeated the Dark Lord. Not as good looking as Malfoy, perhaps, but still...So, what happened between you and Harry to get Lavender so mad, anyway?"  
  
Pepper's face immediately went red and she glanced at the floor. "Well," she began hesitantly, "After mine and Harry's extra Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson today, he kissed me in the hallway and it got, erm, a tad more intimate with, well, tongues," – Hermione cringed and made a disgusted face – "and he did this weird thing I suppose is British, he was sort of playing with my shirt. Then Lavender saw us and we ran."  
  
"Um, Pepper," Hermione said, trying not to laugh at her friend's ignorance, and trying not to throw up at Harry's apparent abundance of hormones, "I believe Harry was trying to – how do I put this lightly – feel you up."  
  
"What!" Pepper screeched. "He was trying to TOUCH me! Eww! I can't believe it! Boys are so perverted. Do you think I should go yell at him? Yes, I think I should. Where's his room?"  
  
"Pepper," Hermione warned, "You're not allowed in the boys' dormitories. It's against the rules, though I do think you should have a go at Harry."  
  
"I don't care if it's against the rules, he's a perverted pervert! He needs to know he can't just go and do that to me. Is their door labeled or something, like ours?" Pepper asked, determined to go yell at Harry. Pepper realized she wouldn't be the first to yell at Harry today, but she didn't really care.  
  
"It's in the same place ours is, except it's in the boys' hallway," Hermione replied, giving up.  
  
Pepper headed towards the door before remembering to ask something else. "Hermione, another thing," she said, turning once again to face Hermione, "What's Harry's middle name?"  
  
"It's James," Hermione answered. "Why do you want to know?"  
  
"Because when you're really mad at someone you have to use their full names," Pepper replied matter-of-factly, rushing out the door, down the stairs and into the common room. As she'd thought, Harry and Ron weren't in the common room. She received a few startled cries from the boys in the common room as they watched her go up the stairs to their dormitories, but she didn't pay any attention to them.  
  
Six doors down the hallway she knocked to make sure it was, in fact, Harry's dorm room. "Who is it?" she heard Harry's voice from inside. With that cleared up, she burst in the door, ready to yell.  
  
Shouts of "Hey!" echoed about the room as she saw the heads of four boys stare in her direction. They were all sitting on the edge of their four- poster beds, apparently talking, before Pepper had burst in. Her eyes landed on Harry, and she opened her mouth to start reprimanding him.  
  
"Harry James Potter!" she screamed. "You do NOT try to grope a girl in the middle of the corridor! We only just figured out we liked each other twelve hours ago! You may be HORNY but that does NOT mean you should take it out on ME! Go find someone else who's HORNY and screw THEM! Anyone could've walked by and SEEN US! You could've gotten me DETENTION! So just do me a favor and LEAVE ME ALONE!" Pepper finished her yelling lecture and stood there for a few seconds, finding Harry's face was completely red and the other three boys were staring, shocked and amused.  
  
Pepper fumed out of the room, back through the common room and into her dorm once again. She saw Lavender and Parvati's silhouettes in their beds so she drew back her own curtains and lay down on her bed. Hermione's head poked between the closed curtains and Pepper sat up so Hermione could come in. Hermione sat down and looked expectant before her eyes widened in insight.  
  
"Pepper," she hissed. "Do you realize how see through your pajamas are?"  
  
"Shit," Pepper said, hitting the back of her head on her headboard. "But they'd have to be, wouldn't they, because I can't do anything right! That's probably what the boys were staring at. Oh, good show, Pepper."  
  
"Anyway," Hermione pushed, changing the subject, "how'd it go?"  
  
"Brilliant, I suppose," Pepper said, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "I told Harry off for being a horny pervert and – "  
  
"Really?" Hermione squealed, cutting Pepper off. "A horny pervert? I never though that description fit Harry. Ron, perhaps, but not Harry. Oh, I'm sorry, continue."  
  
"And he turned red, and I guess everyone saw through my pajamas...curse my aunt and her kinky going away presents."  
  
Hermione began to giggle and it caught on to Pepper. "Well," Hermione gasped, "Now they'll all be horny perverts." The two girls giggled a bit more before calming down. After saying goodnight to each other, they went to sleep, ready for lessons the next day.  
  
At breakfast on Monday Pepper immersed herself in a conversation with Hermione, so Harry wouldn't have a chance to say two words to Pepper. Pepper walked quickly to Double Potions, far ahead from Harry and she sat next to Hermione when they arrived in the classroom. Harry took the table behind them, Ron next to them. As he was leaning forward to talk to Pepper, Lavender walked by them, stopping in front of Pepper and Harry, who was right next to her head.  
  
"Oh, wow," Lavender said scathingly, "You two are actually in a room without your tongues down each others throats."  
  
Pepper rolled her eyes at Lavender. "Get over it," she told the girl. "I'm sure you can find someone else better, anyways." With that, Pepper turned her attention towards Hermione, engaging her friend in another conversation.  
  
Before Harry could apologize to Pepper, Snape walked in and began the lesson.  
  
In History of Magic, Harry took a seat next to Pepper right before Professor Binns started talking, so she couldn't move. She busied herself with taking notes on the history of house elves while Harry kept trying to get her attention. After ten minutes of agitation, Pepper finally glared in Harry's direction. "What?" she hissed softly.  
  
"You didn't mind it when we were kissing," he answered in a whisper.  
  
Embarrassed and angry, Pepper went back to taking notes. She was afraid he'd notice that she didn't notice it when he was actually doing it. At that moment she just wanted to get away from Harry. She was surprised that no one had said anything to her about her show in the boys' dormitory last night.  
  
"Pepper, I'm sorry," Harry apologized quietly. "I shouldn't have done that, even though you didn't object...I'm sorry. I'll take it slower, I swear. I'm really sorry."  
  
Pepper wasn't sure if she should forgive him or not. He did say he'd take it slower and she did know boys were full of hormones and pervertedness. Plus, she did like Harry, he was nice and sweet and friendly and he hadn't fought with her yet.  
  
"Oh fine," Pepper said, giving in to Harry.  
  
Harry smiled. "I just hate it when I'm not talking to my friends, and that seems to be happening lately."  
  
"Yea, sure, whatever," Pepper answered, trying to suppress a smile at Harry's excuses. "Just don't let that happen again – for a while, anyway." The smile she had been trying to smother appeared on her lips, she was happy she and Harry were alright again, she didn't want to have another period of someone ignoring someone else. She had been through that so she knew what Harry felt like, being ignored by her. Besides, she wanted to talk to him. Not to mention kiss him. 


	12. Chapter 11: Flying?

A/N: Big thanks to mshellfire, naiya-isis, charmedrox, and KrystalK8 for their reviews last chapter! So here's another chappy, hope you enjoy!  
  
-Flyaway Dove  
  
!!!!!!!!!  
  
Chapter Eleven  
  
!!!!!!!!!  
  
By lunch, the people who the matter concerned had been informed of the reconciliation of Pepper and Harry. Ron decided this would be the time to make Pepper aware of what she really showed the contents of the dormitory last night.  
  
"The four of us really enjoyed your pajamas, Pepper," Ron guffawed.  
  
"Shut up Ron," Pepper responded.  
  
"Where'd you get those?" Ron asked, trying to contain his laughter. It wasn't working.  
  
"Shut it," Harry said, supporting Pepper.  
  
"If you want to come ranting into our dorm again tonight, feel free," Ron continued.  
  
"Shut up before I hex you," Pepper warned, turning red.  
  
"Nice knickers by the way," Ron said, not heeding Pepper's warning.  
  
"Ron, they weren't that transparent," Harry said.  
  
"Yes they were," said Dean Thomas, one of the boys' dorm mates. "Brilliant show, Pepper. Really enjoyed that one, we all did. Come in tonight, I could see that again."  
  
Mortified and fuming, Pepper rose from her seat and stormed out of the Great Hall. Oh great, she thought, once I make up with Harry I get in a fight with Ron.  
  
She headed towards Gryffindor Tower to collect her things for Care of Magical Creatures. Knowing that lunch was almost over and it would be pointless to head to the library before class, she sat in the common room for a few minutes, waiting for the bell to ring, signaling the end of the meal.  
  
"Hello," a voice squeaked behind her. She turned around and saw Dennis Creevy, a third year, sitting at a table.  
  
"Hello?" she responded. He'd never really talked to her and she wondered why he was up here instead of down at lunch. "Why are you up here? It's lunch."  
  
"Oh I know," he said. "I've got to catch up on some of my homework. I'm having a lot of trouble with it, I just don't get Potions."  
  
"Would you like some help?" Pepper offered.  
  
A smile broke out on the tiny boy's face. "If you've got time," he said.  
  
Pepper walked over to his table and took a seat. She surveyed the assignment. "You made this potion in class, didn't you?"  
  
"Yes," said Dennis. "But I've got to compare what happened and what would happen if you added butterfly wings before the frogs blood."  
  
"Think about what happened," Pepper instructed, wondering how Dennis couldn't possibly understand this.  
  
"Alright..." he said.  
  
"Now reverse the last effect of adding the two ingredients in order."  
  
"Oh, I get it now, thank you," he said, scribbling the answer quickly on his parchment.  
  
"The bell's in a minute," Pepper said, getting up.  
  
Pepper and Dennis headed out of the common room before parting ways, Dennis going to Potions and Pepper to the grounds, to Care of Magical Creatures. On the way Harry ran up to meet her.  
  
"Hey," he panted, out of breath from running to her. "You alright?"  
  
"Yea, fine," Pepper answered darkly.  
  
"Rubbish," Harry said, "I can tell you're not okay."  
  
"Then why'd you ask," Pepper retorted, not knowing exactly why she was snapping at Harry – he'd tried to defend her, it was Ron that was being evil to her. "Sorry, Harry, I'm still a little pissed."  
  
"'S'all right," Harry said. "I guess I understand that he made you mad. Hermione's straightening Ron out. Pretty funny actually."  
  
"Were my PJs really that see through?" Pepper asked.  
  
"PJs?" Harry asked.  
  
"Ooh, sorry, didn't know pajamas wasn't abbreviated in Britishness language," said Pepper. "I meant pajamas."  
  
"Do you want the truth?" Harry asked worriedly. He knew Pepper wouldn't like the answer too much. He'd wanted to say something to her last night, but she'd been so mad and she wouldn't let him get a word in anyway. Besides, it would have really embarrassed her to say something in front of all those boys, though she might have appreciated knowing then.  
  
Pepper nodded warily.  
  
"Then yes, they were see through," Harry replied.  
  
Pepper groaned. "I'm never going to hear the end of this then. Dammit! Aunt Paige is really going to get it now. She was the one that gave them to me, and that was the first time I've ever warn them out of the dorm. I don't know why she gives me things like that." Pepper shook her head in confusion. "What did you say those letter things were that record your voice screaming and burst into flame?"  
  
"Howlers," Harry laughed. "You mean to send her one, then?"  
  
"Yes," Pepper said. "She deserves it. Good thing I wasn't wearing the underwear she got me for my birthday, that would've sucked really badly."  
  
"I shouldn't ask, right," Harry said.  
  
"Right," Pepper responded. "Tonight you'll have to show me how to send a Howler, alright?"  
  
"Alright," Harry said as they arrived outside Hagrid's cabin, where much of the class was already congregated.  
  
"Is it true, Halliwell?" Malfoy's smirking face said as it approached Harry and Pepper. "You stripped for Potter and his friends? You're welcome to come to the Slytherin common room tonight, then. We could use with a good whore."  
  
Harry lunged at Malfoy but Pepper grabbed the collar of his robes before he did anything but make Malfoy step back a bit. "It's alright, Harry," she said. "I'm sure the whole of Slytherin House is just tired of him being their whore."  
  
Malfoy opened his mouth to retort but Hagrid began speaking, signaling the start of the lesson. Pepper just smiled at Malfoy, flicked her hair over her shoulder and turned her attention to Hagrid.  
  
"Good one," Harry whispered to her. "Do you s'pose Hermione and Ron made it? I don't see them."  
  
"Here they come," Pepper said, pointing to two figures joining the class stealthily. "Don't even try and make me talk to Ron before he apologizes."  
  
"I wouldn't dare," Harry answered.  
  
As Care of Magical Creatures came to a close and the students filed back into the castle, Hagrid caught Harry, Ron, Hermione and Pepper and asked them to stay behind. "Would you four like ter stop by fer a cuppa tonight?" he asked them. "Haven't seen yeh in a while."  
  
"Sure, Hagrid, we'd be happy to," Hermione said.  
  
"If Ron apologizes to Pepper by then," Harry added quietly, so only Ron could hear him. Ron flushed pink.  
  
Before Ron and Harry went to Divination and Pepper and Hermione to Airthmancy, Ron apologized.  
  
"You know," Pepper said to Ron, before she forgave him. "Thanks to you Malfoy called me a whore."  
  
"He WHAT!" Ron exclaimed.  
  
"Pepper handled it, though," Harry said.  
  
"Anyway, I suppose I forgive you, Ron. Like I told Harry earlier today, don't do it again," Pepper told him.  
  
"You said 'not for a while,'" Harry reminded her quietly. Pepper hit him playfully on the arm.  
  
"See you at dinner," Hermione said as she and Pepper headed towards the Airthmancy room. "Seems as though you've been doing a lot of yelling and forgiving lately," Hermione said jokingly to Pepper.  
  
"That I have," Pepper said. "Boys suck, I think."  
  
"Agreed," said Hermione.  
  
"I'm getting really fed up with Ronald, I think I should say something to him, make it obvious for him or something. I don't want him fighting with you or you moping around anymore."  
  
"No, Pepper, I want him to do it on his own," Hermione said.  
  
"I can't even drop him a tiny-or a gigantic hint?"  
  
"No," Hermione said defiantly. "It has to be by his on accord."  
  
"Oh fine."  
  
Dinner passed uneventfully, except for Pepper trying to drop hints to Ron without Hermione noticing. She wasn't too successful.  
  
"Pepper, I told you not to do that," Hermione hissed.  
  
"'Oo wha?" Ron asked through a mouthful of pudding.  
  
"Nothing," huffed Hermione. She dropped her voice considerably lower and said, "Harry, we should use the Invisibility Cloak to visit Hagrid tonight. I bet Dumbledore doesn't want you going out after dark."  
  
"Invisibility Cloak?" Pepper asked.  
  
"You've never seen it?" Hermione said. Pepper shook her head. "Well you will tonight."  
  
Harry and Ron led Hermione and Pepper up to their dorm, making sure no one saw them. Harry opened the trunk at the foot of his bed and pulled out a shimmering piece of material. As it passed over his hand Pepper saw that Harry's hand seemed to disappear. Seeing Pepper's look of surprise, Ron explained that anything under it turned invisible.  
  
Harry held up the cloak and looked at it suspiciously. "I don't think we can all fit under this," he said. "We have trouble fitting three of us; with four we won't all be covered. Think of how weird it'll look to a teacher who walks by – they'll just see our feet, or an arm or something."  
  
"We can try it," Ron said, taking the cloak from Harry and throwing it over himself and Hermione.  
  
Pepper was surprised that the two of them seemed to have disappeared into thin air, but she still managed to drop a hint to Ron by saying, "Ooh, how romantic," causing Harry to laugh and Hermione to pull her under the cloak.  
  
"Come on Harry," Ron said. "The three of us fit. Maybe we could just put an Enlarging Charm on the cloak or something."  
  
"You can't do that to an Invisibility Cloak, Ronald," Hermione told him.  
  
"Let me guess, you read it in Hogwarts, a History," Ron joked. Hermione hit him.  
  
"Stop fooling around and let me in," Harry said, picking up a side of the cloak and slipping in with the three of them. "See, there are our feet," he said, pointing downward.  
  
"If we duck a little we fit," Hermione said, and they all followed what she said.  
  
"My arm's still here," said Ron. "We've got to huddle up a bit." They all got closer together and all of their body parts disappeared. "Brilliant," Ron said.  
  
"Let's go, Hagrid's going to wonder if we forgot," said Hermione.  
  
Four people moving at the same time was very difficult, as they soon found out. They managed to get out of the dorm room with little difficulty, but getting down the stairs was another problem. There were people in the common room, so they had to make it seem as if there was no one there by staying quiet and keeping the cloak covering all four of them. The end result was Pepper and Hermione walking down first, with Ron and Harry closely behind them, so they were in two rows. If someone could see them Pepper was sure they'd laugh.  
  
Once down the stairs and through the common room they had to wait for the portrait door to open. Luckily for them, Ginny came in moments after they arrived at the portrait, and they slipped out undetected.  
  
Pepper and Hermione took the lead as the four of them exited the castle and went down to Hagrid's hut. Still under the cloak, Hermione knocked on the door and when Hagrid opened the door Hermione told them that they were under the Invisibility Cloak. He ushered the invisible mass into his hut and not until the door was firmly shut did they remove the cloak.  
  
"Harry, you kept stepping on me," Pepper complained as soon as she was visible again.  
  
"Well, it's hard trying to keep so close to you without stepping on you," Harry replied. "You and Hermione try being in the back next time."  
  
"Hi!" Hagrid said, breaking up the almost-argument of Harry and Pepper.  
  
"Hello, Hagrid," Hermione said. Ron, Harry and Pepper said their hellos, too, and Hagrid told them to have a seat, he'd make some tea.  
  
A giant black dog lay down at Pepper's feet (though its sleeping form came up to her knees, it was so huge), and Pepper looked perplexedly at it.  
  
"I see you've met Fang," Hagrid said, setting down a plate of biscuit looking things on the table. "Go ahead and pet 'im, e's harmless," he encouraged Pepper.  
  
She reached her hand down and patted the black blob, who promptly rolled over to expose his stomach. Deciding she didn't want to rub the creature's stomach, she busied herself with taking a biscuit looking thing from the plate on the table. As she took one from the plate, Hermione shook her head fervently at Pepper, so Pepper put it back, realizing Hermione didn't want her to eat it.  
  
Hagrid turned back to the four of them with a tea kettle. Stopping his conversation with Harry, he poured the tea and offered them the biscuit looking things. Hermione politely declined for all of them, saying that they were still full from dinner.  
  
"So Hagrid, what's new?" Ron asked, sipping at his tea.  
  
"Yeah, what's happening with Madame Maxine?" Harry wondered.  
  
Pepper didn't know who Madame Maxine was, but by the way Hagrid was blushing, she figured it was his girlfriend.  
  
"Me and Olympe are...well I perposed ter her the other night," Hagrid admitted.  
  
"Oh, Hagrid!" Hermione exclaimed, jumping up and hugging him.  
  
"Congratulations, Hagrid," Harry said, toasting Hagrid with his teacup.  
  
"Cheers, mate," Ron said, hitting Harry's teacup with his own. "Always knew you two'd get married," he ," Pepper said uncomfortably. She suddenly wanted to leave. She felt like she shouldn't have gone with Harry, Ron and Hermione in the first place. She hadn't known Hagrid nearly as long as the other three had – he probably didn't want her here anyway, he'd just asked her here to be polite. She could just grab the Invisibility Cloak and slip out...  
  
"Oh, Hagrid," Hermione said again, pulling Pepper out of her thoughts. "That's so wonderful! Where are you going to live? Is she coming down here...oh, no, she couldn't she's Beauxbatons' headmistress, she couldn't leave her students. Oh, no! Hagrid, does that mean you're leaving?!" Hermione cried.  
  
"Well, I'm not sure abou' that yet, 'Ermione, but it looks tha' way," Hagrid said. "I'll stay ter the end o the year, o course.  
  
"Oh, no!" Hermione repeated, tears threatening to spill from her eyes. "You can't leave, Hagrid! France!"  
  
"Erm, Hermione, I think we should leave," said Ron, glancing nervously out the window. A few seconds later, there was a knock at the door. Hermione stopped her tears, grabbed the cloak and threw it over the four of them. They snuck out the back door as Hagrid opened the door, letting Professor Dumbledore and another wizard into his hut.  
  
The four of them ran through the dark pumpkin patch as fast as they could, considering they were all under a cloak. As they approached the castle, Hermione's sobs started again.  
  
"He-he just can't leave," she stuttered. "We couldn't even visit him, Beauxbatons is so f-far away...somewhere in France..."  
  
"It'll be alright, Hermione," Ron assured her, putting the arm that wasn't holding the cloak away from his face around Hermione.  
  
Pepper smiled to herself. She wasn't too heartbroken that Hagrid might be leaving, after all she didn't know him too well and his leaving seemed to be bringing Hermione and Ron closer together. She would have to tell Hermione to keep acting so sad and helpless, and then Ron might comfort her. At least it would get her more attention from him.  
  
When they arrived back in the common room, it was empty so they decided it would be safe to take it off there. They removed the cloak, and immediately Hermione ran up to the girls' dorm room, still in tears. Pepper dropped the cloak material she was holding and rushed after her friend, telling Ron and Harry she'd take care of it.  
  
"Hermione?" she said, pulling back Hermione's bed curtains. Hermione sat there, with her head in her hands. When she looked up it appeared she was torn between being really upset and very happy. Pepper sat on Hermione's bed and closed the curtains behind her.  
  
"Your face looks like it's having trouble deciding whether to be happy or sad, Hermione," Pepper said, trying not to smile at Hermione's expression. "What's up?"  
  
"I don't want Hagrid to leave, though I'm happy he's getting m-m-married, and Ron, he-he put his arm around me!" Hermione explained.  
  
Pepper laughed. "Hermione, Hermione," she teased, shaking her head. "If you want that kind of attention from Ron then just act this upset until he kisses you or something."  
  
"But isn't that sort of lying?" Hermione asked uncertainly.  
  
"Rubbish," Pepper said, deciding to use her British vocabulary. "You'll still be upset, I'm sure of it. You just won't be as upset as you are now...so it's not lying, it's...fibbing. Which isn't bad. Especially if you're trying to get Ron to notice you."  
  
"Alright," Hermione said, still uncertain. "I'll try it, I s'pose."  
  
Pepper awoke to see a face right by her own face. She was so surprised she yelped and almost fell out of bed. When she regained full consciousness she found it was Harry, dressed in his Quidditch robes. "Hey, Pepper," he whispered. "Want to come to Quidditch practice?"  
  
"Gimme ten minutes," Pepper answered groggily. Harry left and Pepper got up to get dressed and ready to go down to Quidditch practice. She hoped that Harry would give her another lesson...  
  
"'Bout time," Ron grumbled as Pepper entered the common room. "We better hurry up, or we'll be late."  
  
Pepper, Ron and Harry exited the common room and made their way down to the Quidditch pitch. "Harry, are you sure it's alright I watch?" Pepper asked Harry.  
  
"Yea, I asked Angelina and she said that as long as you're not in the way you're free to be there," Harry said.  
  
"Cool," Pepper responded, exited to watch another Quidditch practice.  
  
At the end of the practice, Pepper was ready with water for the team once again. Harry downed his water and then told her he'd take her flying after his shower. Like last time, Pepper watched the team file back into the castle, each of them saying good-bye to her as they went.  
  
Finally, Harry emerged from the changing rooms, his unruly hair still damp. "Hurry up, Harry, we've got class in an hour," Pepper said anxiously.  
  
"Alright, alright," said Harry, hurrying over to her with his Firebolt in his hand. "So did you want to steer, or d'you want me to take you for a ride?" he asked.  
  
"Uh, if it's all right I'd like to try it again. I promise I'll be more careful this time," Pepper said.  
  
Harry handed her the broom and she mounted it, Harry getting on behind her. Pepper kicked lightly off the ground and they hovered a few inches. "A bit harder next time," Harry told her.  
  
Pepper couldn't reach the ground with her feet anymore so Harry, being taller than her, did it for them. They rose expertly into the air and Pepper leaned forward on the broom a tiny bit, making it go forward. The broom inched forward as Harry took control, taking the position from behind Pepper as he had before; his hands on hers, their faces close. Neither one of them minded that Harry moved closer to Pepper than he had the last time. Harry turned the broom upward so they went soaring into the sky.  
  
"Where are we going!" Pepper yelled over the din the wind was making in her ears. "Off to make out?"  
  
"Yes, actually!" Harry yelled back.  
  
"I'm down with that!" came Pepper's reply.  
  
"What does that mean?!" Harry asked confusedly.  
  
"OKAY!" Pepper yelled, laughing.  
  
Harry flew them into the pitch's stands, where the teachers usually sat. Cornering Pepper into the topmost stand he kissed her, and she responded. "What do – (kiss) – you call make – (kiss) – ing out in – (kiss) – British- ness?" Pepper asked.  
  
"Snogging," Harry said, smiling at her knack to ask strange questions at odd times.  
  
Twenty minutes later, Harry and Pepper returned to the ground. As they raced towards the castle, Pepper tried to fix her hair. "We're screwing the lesson then, I suppose," Pepper panted.  
  
"Looks that way," Harry said. "I'm starving, we'd better hurry."  
  
"I'm going as fast as I can," gasped Pepper. "You're just fitter than I am!"  
  
"Have fun?" Ron asked as Pepper and Harry arrived in the Great Hall.  
  
"Yea," Pepper answered, seating herself next to Hermione and grabbing a piece of toast. "Great fun...Oh, Harry, you've got to tell me how to send a Howler, remember?" she said as hundreds of owls swept into the Great Hall, delivering the mail.  
  
"Oh, yea, I'll do it tonight," Harry replied as he spread marmalade on his toast. 


	13. Chapter 12: Soul Mates

A/N: Thanks a bunch to charmedsisters, LornaluvsCHP, naiya-isis, charmedrox, C and blondi gurl for your reviews and suggestions.  
  
A few words to you guys....  
  
LornaluvsCHP: I forgot the boys got pitched down the stairs when they tried to get into the girls' dorms...I just reread that part in the book and then you're review. If I can think of some way to still make Harry's going up there work, I'll change it.  
  
naiya-isis: It wasn't an English person that said 'screw the lesson' it was Pepper, who is, in fact, American.  
  
C: If I'm not too lazy, I'll change it to that. Though, Pepper would probably get in trouble for it...  
  
And now, without further ado, I present to you, my loving fans, chapter twelve! great thundering applause  
  
!!!!!!!!  
  
Chapter Twelve  
  
!!!!!!!!  
  
The week passed without much error, and soon it was the night before Hogsmede. Paige had received her Howler, as Pepper found out, because Pepper had gotten a letter from Piper wondering what the hell it was. The subject of Ron and Hermione together was still nonexistent, and Pepper's O.W.L.s were coming up, though she wasn't too worried. It appeared to Pepper that Hermione wasn't following her advice to get Ron to notice her and pay more attention to her.  
  
Homework was piling up, and Hermione was wondering whether or not she should go to Hogsmede, but the others convinced her to, reminding her of the fact that she could finish it all in three hours, tops.  
  
So on Saturday morning, the second Saturday of October, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Pepper all threw on Muggle clothes and met in the common room. They'd invited Ginny but she said she was going with someone else, a boy, they discovered, much to Ron's dismay.  
  
They proceeded outside onto the grounds, where they were led to Hogsmede. It was a perfect day outside, and the students walked through the village happily, their moneybags being emptied.  
  
Pepper looked at Hogsmede with almost as much fascination as Diagon Alley. She was excited to spend her Wizard coins, which had been in her drawstring pouch since the beginning of the year.  
  
Ron led the other three into the sweet shop first, and then Harry took them to a joke shop. The girls stood there patiently while the boys looked around the joke shop, but after a few minutes Hermione decided she was bored. Grabbing Pepper's wrist and yelling and explanation to Harry and Ron, she pulled Pepper from the shop and into another one that seemed to be full of writing tools.  
  
Quills of every shape, size and color lined the walls. In the middle of the room were shelves upon floating shelves of all different kinds of ink. Rolls of parchment were in compartments labeled with the names of different countries.  
  
"C'mon," Hermione muttered as she pulled Pepper to the walls of quills. "I need a new quill," she muttered.  
  
Pepper pulled a particularly large quill made by a peacock feather from its holder and showed it to Hermione. "How bout this one?" she joked, knowing full well that it was much larger than the quills they normally used. "How can you tell what quill is what?" she asked Hermione. "I recognize this is peacock..." Pepper put that quill back and picked up a purple and white spotted one, "but I don't know what the heck this is."  
  
"There containers are labeled," Hermione answered impatiently, pointing to the wooden container that held the quill Pepper was currently holding. "It tells you what the feather is from and what the quill is good for." Hermione returned to looking through the quills while Pepper read the uses for the purple and white quill.  
  
"Beaumink feather," Pepper read puzzlement apparent in her voice. "This quill allows you to write faster and is a great decoration for those boring hats...? I swear, these wizards are weird. Well, anyway, I think I'll get this quill, it sounds very useful. Plus, my hat could always use a little decoration."  
  
Hermione let out an "Mmm" sound to show she wasn't really paying attention to a thing Pepper was saying. She was just picking up quills, examining them and putting them back in their wooden boxes. Following Hermione's lead, Pepper also got a couple more standard quills, just for good measure.  
  
Pepper walked over to the parchments to see if she found any that she'd like to purchase. There was a different fancy parchment for each county in the world. Pepper pulled the American one out of its slot. The parchment was thin and light blue with an intricate border of twinkling flags along its edge. Pepper rolled it back up and tucked it under her arm; she'd use it for a letter to her aunts. She also picked up one from Japan, since it said it was made from rice and fish skin.  
  
The other rack of parchments she hadn't seen before were one's of different colors. Pepper selected out two pink ones and an aquamarine one.  
  
Next was the inkstand, which contained all sorts of different inks. There were different colored ones, ones that changed colors, ones that disappeared, some that spell checked your work...there were too many different ones to count. Pepper chose a few bottles of normal black, a bottle that changed color, a bottle that spell checked essays and a bottle of disappearing ink.  
  
With great difficulty, she carried her armful of items to the checkout desk and set them down. After the elderly wizard rang them up, she paid her four galleons and seven knuts and found Hermione once again.  
  
Hermione had finally picked out a quill, and she'd also picked up some normal parchment and ink. When Hermione had paid for her purchases, she and Pepper exited the store, bags in hand, and entered the Quidditch store, when they saw Ron's red head in the window.  
  
Harry and Ron were staring at the Moonbeam – the broom Pepper had fallen in love with the first time she saw it. "Bloody hell," Ron was muttering. "Loads of Galleons...Harry I don't even reckon you've got that many."  
  
"Hello," Hermione said as she and Pepper came up behind them. The two boys turned around.  
  
"Hi," Ron said. "Since neither Harry nor I have the gold to buy this broom what d'you say we go to the Shrieking Shack?"  
  
Hermione gave Ron a significant look but Ron didn't seem to notice.  
  
"I mean, we haven't been over there in a while and...Harry, what's wrong?" Ron asked, seeing Harry was now looking at the floor.  
  
Pepper crossed over to him and touched his arm. "Harry...?"  
  
"Mate, what's wrong?" Ron repeated.  
  
"Snuffles," Hermione hissed at him. It seemed a light bulb had gone off in Ron's head, a look of understanding suddenly appeared on his face.  
  
"Er, sorry Harry – " Ron began, but Harry cut him off by snapping his head back up and saying it was alright, he thought they should pay a visit to the Shrieking Shack. Pepper had no idea what the Shrieking Shack or Snuffles was, but all the same, she followed the other three out of the Quidditch shop and back into the village. She walked ahead, with Harry, who was still not fully back to earth, and Ron and Hermione were walking behind them, bickering as usual.  
  
"I'm sorry, Hermione, I forgot."  
  
"How can you forget, Ronald! It hasn't been that long, you've got to keep Harry's feelings in mind! How do you think he feels?"  
  
"I hate when they do this," Harry mumbled from beside Pepper. She walked closer to him, putting a reassuring hand on his hand.  
  
"Lousy, that's how I think he feels! I know that's how he feels, because he's told me. I'm his best mate, Hermione!"  
  
"Then start acting like it, for heaven's sake! You are so insensitive sometimes, you just need to – "  
  
There was a sudden silence which Pepper and Harry found odd, so they turned around, not fully prepared for the sight before them. Ron's face was pressed against Hermione's...it appeared they were kissing. The mouths' of Pepper and Harry dropped open, not believing what they were seeing. When Ron and Hermione finally broke apart, they were both flushed, slightly smiling and standing rooted to the spot. Overcoming her surprise, Pepper suddenly leaped and twirled around the two, chanting, "They kissed! They kissed!" over and over again.  
  
Harry still stood with his mouth agape and Ron and Hermione were smiling fondly at each other while the human jumping bean danced around them. After a few minutes, Pepper fell onto the ground, panting and still chanting through gasps for air. "They kissed..." she finished feebly, getting to her feet. "Well, isn't anyone going to say something? Profess your undying love for one another?"  
  
"Hermione I..." Ron started, but was soon interrupted by a drawling voice behind them.  
  
"Isn't this cute?" it said, as Malfoy came into view, flanked, as usual, by Crabbe and Goyle.  
  
"Yes, it is," Pepper said defiantly. "I didn't know you could recognize cute things, Malfoy. Do you have a heart, after all?"  
  
"Shut it, whore, I wasn't talking to you," Malfoy sneered.  
  
"Well, I'm talking to you," Harry said, getting closer to Malfoy. "And I'm telling you that you'd better leave before I hex you." He pulled out his wand at pointed it at Malfoy. Malfoy rolled his eyes, but turned and left anyway.  
  
"Well..." Harry said to the other remaining three there. "Erm..."  
  
"What were you saying, Ron?" Hermione wanted to know.  
  
"Um, Harry," Pepper said quietly, grabbing Harry's arm and dragging him away from Hermione and Ron. "I think we should leave...they probably don't want us here for this...they're about to profess their undying love for each other...finally..."  
  
Harry led Pepper to their original destination, the Shrieking Shack, to get away from Hermione and Ron. "Harry, if you don't mind my asking, why did you go all...mental...(A/N: Hehe, British ness) when Ron mentioned this place?" Pepper didn't see anything special about it, it just looked like a broken down building, even from as far away as they were.  
  
"It reminds me of Sirius," Harry answered briskly.  
  
"Oh..." Pepper said, also soft on that subject. So that's who Snuffles was... "Why?" she asked.  
  
Harry was about to retort rudely, but then remembered that Sirius was Pepper's father; she probably felt a lot more grief than he did. "This is where I first met him. I thought he was trying to kill me, but it turns out he wasn't, he was trying to kill Peter Pettigrew. That night, after we'd stunned Snape, realized what Sirius was trying to do and finding Professor Lupin was a werewolf, Sirius invited me to come live with him."  
  
"You've seen his house then?" Pepper asked. Harry nodded. "I haven't."  
  
"It's actually his parents' house. Not very nice, I can tell you that. I didn't go in it because I lived with him, it was the Order headquarters, well, it still is, actually."  
  
"The Order? Is it that thing my dad told me about?"  
  
"Order of the Phoenix, yeah. It's a top-secret organization fighting against Voldemort. I was there for a while this summer. I suppose the house has improved...though the Order doesn't need the best of headquarters...I bet Dumbledore will let you go there...Pepper, what's wrong?" he asked upon realizing Pepper was beginning to cry. "Wait, that's a stupid question, you miss Sirius, don't you," he said gently.  
  
"I miss him so much, Harry," Pepper said weakly, trying to stop from crying. Her efforts seemed to work – the tears stopped falling.  
  
"I miss him too," Harry said, wrapping his arms around her. She looked up into his face and he leaned down, kissing her full on the lips. Their kiss was bittersweet and full of anguish on both party's parts. As the kiss became more intense, Pepper clung to Harry, as if their kiss would bring Sirius back to life.  
  
They stood there like that for minutes, though it seemed longer than that to them, until Hermione cleared her throat loudly. Pepper pulled away from Harry's embrace and looked around, as if checking to see if Sirius was there.  
  
"What?" she said dejectedly to Hermione and Ron, whom she noticed were standing closer together than was normal.  
  
Hermione knitted her brow in slight confusion. "I was just going to tell you we should head back, it's getting late..." she said.  
  
"Alright," Pepper sighed as she walked over to Ron and Hermione, hauling Harry along behind her by his hand.  
  
"Pepper," Harry said, trying to get her to slow down; Ron and Hermione had to practically run to keep up with her fast walking and Harry was almost literally dragging on the ground. "What is it?"  
  
"I felt that, Harry, your want to bring Sirius back. That's why we kissed, and you know it. Just because we're magical doesn't mean we can bring him back to life, though..." she slowed down. "Dammit." Tired and confused by the emotions that were hitting her all at once and not wanting to talk to anyone at the moment, Pepper waved both of her hands so that Harry, Hermione, Ron and a few other people littered about the street froze in their tracks. "Dammit," Pepper repeated. She sighed heavily and apprehended that everyone was heading back to the castle...she'd have to unfreeze them or they'd all get in trouble.  
  
Running down the street, she waved her hands frantically behind her, causing the street to unfreeze. She heard a shout that was undoubtedly Harry, but kept running, not really wanting to talk to anyone at the moment.  
  
Upon entering the castle once again, she stormed into the Great Hall for lunch, following the mass of students. She took her old place at the Ravenclaw table, next to Luna Lovegood.  
  
"Hello," Luna said in her normal dreamy tone. "I haven't seen you for a while. Did you have fun at Hogsmede?"  
  
"Yea," Pepper grumbled, piling mashed potatoes onto her plate.  
  
Studying in the dormitory was next on Pepper's agenda list. She didn't want to talk to Harry because...well, she wasn't sure why. She just knew that conversation they had set off a lot of emotions in her and then that kiss...She could tell that Harry had been wishing the same thing as she had, she could taste it. She wasn't sure what she'd been thinking...they couldn't bring Sirius back. She'd just kissed him like that, with such urgency, because she was upset.  
  
The curtains on her bed parted and Hermione sat down on the edge of the mattress, a wide smile on her face. The same smile, Pepper assumed, that she had worn in Hogsmede. "Missed you at dinner. Were you at the Ravenclaw table again?" Hermione asked.  
  
Pepper nodded. "And before you say anything else, Hermione, I just want you to know that I needed some time alone to think. You didn't feel that kiss...it was so weird, charged with energy or something."  
  
"Witnessing it was enough for me, thank you. I'd say it was charged with lust, you two looked like you wanted to jump down each other's pants. Anyway, what happened that you guys did that?" Hermione wondered, closing the bed hangings behind her.  
  
"We were talking about the Shrieking Shack...my dad...and it was a voice in my head said "Kiss Harry and your dad will come back to life!" So, I did, and I think Harry kissed with the same feelings I did...like that happened to him too. It was very weird. But, it's over now, so I think I'll forget all about it and go talk to Harry! Maybe he's forgotten..."  
  
"Pepper," Hermione said, stopping the other girl from leaving the confinements of the bed. "I've read about that...what you've described..."  
  
Hermione had gained Pepper's attention and Pepper looked at her quizzically. "What part of what I described?" she asked.  
  
"It's called...oh, what is it called...I'll look the name again. I know what it does, though. In situations of great grief over a dead person, two people who were related to that person can bring them back...I know there's a potion involved, that may be why it didn't work, because you didn't have the potion...anyway, the two people have to be soul mates...they kiss, pour the potion over their heads and the dead person comes back for...seventy-two hours, I believe. It's a very rare happening. A very complicated potion, too, as I understand."  
  
"W-Wait. Hermione, did you just say the two people have to be...soul mates?" Pepper asked, wide eyed.  
  
Hermione's expression soon mocked Pepper's. "Yes, I did. That means, oh Merlin, you and Harry are – "  
  
"SOUL MATES!" Pepper screamed. "No. No, there must be some mistake. The spell thing didn't work because we aren't soul mates. We CAN'T be!"  
  
"That's the only way it could happen, or even come that close to happening. Pepper, you and Harry are soul mates."  
  
Pepper shook her head violently. "We're not even together properly as boyfriend and girlfriend!"  
  
Hermione nodded slowly. "I'm as surprised as you are," she said, her voice growing more high-pitched with each word. "Harry...has...a...soul...mate? I reckon we should tell him."  
  
"Oh, I'll tell him," Pepper said, her voice lower than usual. "This is probably all his fault...if he hadn't kissed me this wouldn't have happened."  
  
"But Pepper, aren't you happy, you know you have a soul mate."  
  
"I'm sixteen! That means I'll have to fall madly in love with Harry, get married to him and have kids! Oh god, KIDS! I'll have to have SEX with him! EWW!" Pepper cried.  
  
"Pepper, Pepper! You're getting ahead of yourself! I'm sorry! I take back what I said! Don't fly off the handle. Okay, calm down and back up. You haven't got to have sex with Harry unless you want to. This happened because, yes, Harry is your soul mate, but you may have another one. You don't have to spend the rest of your life with Harry. Unless you want to, of course," Hermione assured her, trying to calm her friend. "Now, I think the first step is to tell Harry."  
  
"Could I yell it to him?" Pepper asked.  
  
"Er...I s'pose, but you might not want to do it in the common room if you don't want everyone knowing about it."  
  
"Right," Pepper said with a quick nod. "Well, it seems Harry is a good person to yell at. Really, when you think about it, it is his fault. He was the one that kissed me in the first place. Well, I'm off!" And with that, Pepper exited the dormitory and went into the hallway. From the top of the small spiral case, she began to yell. "Harry Potter! Get your ass over here right now!" she cried, causing several people in the common room to stare at her.  
  
Harry was sitting by the fire, enjoying a game of Exploding Snap with Ron, Neville, Ginny and Seamus. He was winning, (which Pepper didn't know, and she probably wouldn't have cared at that moment), when he heard a familiar voice bellowing his name. What've I done now? he thought. Suddenly, Pepper was pulling him up by his arm.  
  
"Get your lazy ass up!" she said through gritted teeth as she pulled him up the girls' dormitory stairs and back into her dorm room. Hermione was still on her bed, she saw, but she sat Harry down on it anyway. "Harry," she said forcefully. "You know that thing that happened by the Shrieking Shack?"  
  
"That kiss?" Harry asked, turning a bit red.  
  
"Yea, that," Pepper said. "Well, turns out it was some rare special something... Hermione will explain." Since that was her cue, Hermione began explaining the same thing to Harry as she had to Pepper. "And in conclusion," said Pepper dramatically. "We're soul mates."  
  
Harry's mouth dropped open and Pepper thought his jaw would hit the floor. "Soul mates," he said shakily. "But...we're not even boyfriend and girlfriend."  
  
"I know," Pepper told him slowly. She looked at Hermione pointedly and Hermione left the dorm room. "It doesn't mean we've got to stay together forever and have a perfect family or anything...that's not what I really care about at this point in our lives. I did freak out about it before, but now that I think about what Hermione said... you know what this means, Harry? We could bring my dad back to life for three days." She put her hands on his knees and looked him in the face to see what he was feeling.  
  
"It does, doesn't it," he said. "But according to Hermione it's a really difficult potion..."  
  
"We could do it Harry. After my O.W.L.s...I'm sure we could," Pepper said, sitting on Harry's legs and putting her forehead to his. "Please, Harry. I really miss him," she said quietly. "For your soul mate?"  
  
He kissed her quickly on the lips in answer. She smiled. "I'd better get back to the common room before I arouse any suspicion."  
  
"Or anything else..." Pepper added suggestively.  
  
"See you at dinner," he said, choosing to ignore this comment, as she was arousing more than suspicion on her end...  
  
He went back to the common room, happy that he was wearing his robes, and sat back down by the hearth to get back to the game of Exploding Snap. "What was that nutter on about?" Seamus asked. "She seemed angry at you Harry, what'd you do now?"  
  
"Nothing," Harry said, deciding it would be best not to share the information he'd just received from Hermione and Pepper. "She just wanted to show me something."  
  
Ginny caught his eye from across the circle of people. She looked doubtful, and he mouthed to her that he'd tell her later.  
  
!!!!!!!!!!  
  
A/N: I know, I know, corny and confusing. But you gotta love it! 


	14. Chapter 13: Misters Potter and Malfoy

**A/N: Ahh!!! I'm so sorry I haven't updated, but I was away at camp for a week and was deprived of my laptop!!!! It made me so sad, though camp was really really fun. I could've sworn I posted this chapter before I left, but apparently I didn't. Sooooo thank you to all of my wonderful reviewers, once again and special thanks to Allisoncrestfield because I KNOW YOU! AND I DON'T WANT YOU TO GO BACK TO MARYLAND! CALL ME WOMAN! Anyways, this is the most hilarious chapter, well, I think so at least and I hope you do too. Please review; I always welcome hearing from my loving fans. I don't know if I should make the rating 'R' because there's a lot of dirty minded things in this chapter (hey, I'm a teenager, what do you expect me to write?!), so if you guys could give me feedback on that too...**

**I've also started revising the earlier chapters so new revised versions of them may be posted soon. **

**Enjoy this superindifirous chapter!**

**-Flyaway Dove**

!!!!!!!!!

Chapter Thirteen

!!!!!!!!!

"I found a reference book that contains information about the spell you two experienced the other day," Hermione said to Pepper and Harry. Looking up she saw their expectant faces.

"Well, Hermione, get on with it, I've got to study, you know," Pepper said.

Hermione looked down at the text once again. "It's called the Féminin Vivreencore Curse. Highly dangerous...difficult to conjure...soul mates...kiss...I already know all that, give me something else...it doesn't give the potion, not even the ingredients." She shut the book and glanced at the cover. "Well, of course it doesn't, this isn't a potions book..." She sighed and went back to scan the shelves.

Pepper shot Harry a nervous glance; they hadn't told Hermione that they actually wanted to _use_ the potion, when Hermione just wanted to see what was in it. They didn't think Hermione would really approve of using it. Pepper turned back to the book she was reading. Her O.W.L.s started in a week, and she was getting more nervous by the day.

"Harry, quiz me," she ordered, handing the book to him. He began to read off the beginning of facts, leaving Pepper to fill in the gaps.

Thirty minutes later, Hermione returned from looking for books to see Harry and Pepper sitting on the bench at the table, practically on top of each other. It appeared Harry was trying to help Pepper study, but every time he asked her something she'd squint and then leaned over Harry to look at the book. This caused Harry to try to block her, which resulted in a kiss. Hermione smiled. She hadn't seen Harry acting this carefree since Sirius died.

"Hey, lovebirds, I thought Pepper had O.W.L.s next week," she said as she approached them, her eyebrow raised.

Pepper snapped back to attention, sitting up in her seat. "I was trying, but Harry does it wrong," she complained.

"I do not," Harry said. "You're just trying to get the answer from the book before I even ask the bloody question!"

"Am not!" Pepper pouted.

"I've got more books," Hermione said loudly, stopping the arguing.

"Hermione, could _you_ help me study?" Pepper asked, glaring at Harry but with a smile on her face.

"Sure," Hermione answered, even though she knew Harry was perfectly capable of quizzing someone, she was just afraid Pepper wouldn't get any studying done if she and Harry kept playing games like that. "Harry," she said as Pepper handed her the book, "Look through these books when you get a chance, will you?"

"Okay," Harry said. "By the way, Hermione, where's Ron? He hasn't been apart from you these past few days."

"He said Angelina wanted to see him for something...I think it was a new Qudditch move...?" Hermione answered.

"Oh," Harry said, a puzzled look on his face. "He didn't tell me, I wonder why..."

"Come off it, Harry, just do your homework."

The day before her O.W.L.s started, Pepper decided to take a walk to lower her stress. Hermione said she'd come with Pepper, to help her review her Transfiguration. That completely defeated Pepper's point, but she agreed to let Hermione come with her, she figured she could get Hermione off the subject somehow.

Saying farewell to Harry and Ron, who were very behind on their homework, they left the castle.

Pepper wanted to take a stroll around the castle, but Hermione said that would take much too long, they should walk around the lake. And since Pepper had never walked by the lake, it made it all the better.

It was a very nice day for a walk. The sky was clear and sunny, though there was a cold breeze signaling November was on its way. Pepper was, at that moment, grateful they had to wear their robes on school grounds, she would've been freezing if they weren't on her.

They walked in silence for a few moments before Hermione said she wanted to quiz Pepper on her O.W.L that she would be taking tomorrow. Pepper declined the offer at once, and said she'd rather talk about something interesting, like their love lives, perhaps?

"Ron is so wonderful," Hermione sighed, giving in to Pepper's suggestion. "He may not be my _soul mate_"_ – _she looked meaningfully at Pepper – "but he's really sweet when we're not having a row, which, as you may have noticed, hasn't happened in five days now."

"Well I'm glad you're having a wonderful time with Ron, Hermione," Pepper said. "I sort of noticed you two really close together lately...you haven't done anything but kiss, right Hermione? I mean, I would've noticed him in our dorm, unless you put one of those Silencing Charms you're so good at, on your bed."

"I've done no such thing," huffed Hermione. "We've just kissed, that's all."

"Do you really think Ron is cute? 'Cause you said the other day you said Harry wasn't as good looking as Malfoy, and I think Harry's better looking than Ron."

"Harry is not better looking than Ron!" Hermione protested. "Though, I do think Malfoy is better looking then both of them. But Ron is definitely cuter than Harry."

"I don't think so, girlfriend!" Pepper said jokingly. "Harry positively, absolutely is better looking that Ron. He's sexier too. Plus, his ass is nicer."

Hermione laughed. "You have me on that last one, I have to agree. However, Ron's chest is more muscular than Harry's. That's got to count for _something_."

Pepper smirked. "And how would you know, Miss Granger?"

Hermione blushed then looked at Pepper in mock-horror. "Pepper, don't smirk! You look like Malfoy when you do that!"

Pepper grimaced at the thought of looking like Malfoy. "Anyway, back to the subject. You're trying to avoid my question. How do you know Ron's chest is more muscular than Harry's?"

"Swimming," muttered Hermione. "I took them to a pool by my house and, naturally, they had their shirts off. That's all, I swear."

"Whatever you say," Pepper said, eyeing her suspiciously. "But anywho, Harry is, without a doubt, sexier than Ron. Especially his hair. The way it flops around and everything."

"I don't think so," Hermione said. "Ron's sexier. His blue eyes and his red hair..." She stared dreamily off into space, reminding Pepper of Luna Lovegood.

"See that's why I could never date Malfoy; his hair is slicked back, I need floppy hair. When you're Head Girl next year you've got to get him to stop gelling his hair back."

"Who said I'm going to be Head Girl? And who says Malfoy's going to be Head Boy?" Hermione demanded.

"Oh, come on Hermione, of course you're going to be Head Girl," Pepper said.

They stopped walking and stared at the lake. The wind made slight waves over the water, and a giant tentacle appeared on the surface from time to time.

"Bien Erin," Pepper said quietly.

"What?" Hermione asked.

"Bane air-een," Pepper said, sounding everything out for Hermione. "It means 'beautiful day.'"

"Is that...Elvish?" Hermione asked hesitantly.

"Why, yes it is," Pepper answered, surprised. "How'd you know?"

"Probably same way you do, I suspect," said Hermione. "I've read the greatest books of all time, I know. Studied the language by myself for a while after I read them. I found that I didn't have quite the knack you need to learn it though. Besides, I had so much else going on; I was too busy to study Elvish. I already know Latin, so it doesn't matter to me, any way I can make Harry and Ron feel stupid is a good thing to know."

Pepper laughed and nodded her head. "Since I've just been fighting demons all my life I have a lot of free time on my hands. I taught my dad a little of it, too. We -  
hang on, what's that noise?" Pepper cupped her hand around her ear to see if she could hear it again. And there it was, a timid hooting coming from somewhere by the lake.

"It sounds like an owl," Hermione said. "There it is." She pointed to a spot under a nearby yew tree. There was a small, cream and black owl lying in the grass.

Pepper and Hermione hurried over to the owl, which was lying in an odd position. It seemed to have broken its wing. Hermione picked it up carefully and it gave a sharp hoot. Hermione almost dropped the owl in surprise, but she held on to it. "We should get it to Hagrid," she said. Pepper nodded. They stood up and headed toward Hagrid's hut, Hermione carrying the owl.

They knocked on the great wooden door and only had to wait a few seconds before Hagrid opened it. Hagrid smiled when he saw the two girls and conducted them in.

"Good ter see ya again," he said, taking out two mugs and putting them on the table.

"Hagrid," Pepper said worriedly, "We've found this owl, it seems to be injured." Pepper took the owl carefully from Hermione and handed it to Hagrid.

"Blimey," Hagrid said, examining the owl. "It's injured all righ'. Who's is it?"

"We don't know," Hermione replied. "We were walking around the lake and we found it like this."

"Well, I'll take care o' it. I' will ge' better, I promise yer tha'. Then we'll see whose owl it is," Hagrid said.

"We'd better get back to the castle, Pepper, it's almost dark," Hermione said. "Bye Hagrid. Thanks for taking the owl."

Pepper waved as she and Hermione left the hut and headed back to the castle.

Once they were back in the common room, they sat down next to Harry and Ron on the plush couch. They were reading, though they both wore smiles on their faces.

"What's so funny?" Pepper asked.

Harry licked his lips before speaking. "I like your ass, too, Pepper," he managed to say before he and Ron burst out laughing.

Pepper and Hermione immediately flushed scarlet. Pepper swore. "Why the hell'd you follow us?" she asked. "Effing Invisibility Cloak..."

"Couldn't resist," Ron said, breathlessly. "Girl talk...we figured we'd come up in conversation. Nice to know you think so highly of us." At this, he exploded into laughter once more. Hermione and Pepper shot the boys death glares before they stomped off to their dormitory.

"We can't be mad at them," Pepper said steadily. "They were just being boys. We could've predicted this. Of course they figured we'd talk about them." She groaned. "Idiots." She buried her face in her pillow.

"Who, us or them?" Hermione asked, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

"Boof, I suppof," Pepper answered, her words muffled by her pillow. She turned her head to look at Hermione. "I thought you had a good cover, saying you'd be quizzing me..."

"That wasn't a cover!" Hermione said, taken aback. "I really was going to help you review." A look of realization was suddenly plastered on Hermione's face and she let out a groan similar to Pepper's. Pepper let out a "mmm" sound, that clearly asked what Hermione's groan was for. "Ron heard me say Harry's arse was nicer than his." Hermione shook her head and put her face in her hands. A few seconds later, her head shot up again. "Bloody hell, _Harry_ heard me say his arse is nice!"

Pepper was hit with a great wave of laughter, causing her to fall off of her bed. "Harry....ass...you...said..." she spluttered. Hermione shook her head, laughing as well, but not nearly as hard.

"You're hopeless, Pepper," she said. "You are aware that your first O.W.L is tomorrow, aren't you?"

Pepper shot up into a sitting position. "Shit," she said, wiping the tears from her eyes. "I'd forgotten. So let's get studying, then, shall we?"

Pepper sat nervously in the wooden chair, waiting for Professor McGonagall to explain the exam to her. A plate of sandwiches was placed on the desk beside her and packet of paper and her lucky purple and white spotted quill in front of her.

McGonagall explained to her that she'd have the lunch period to complete the exam and that there was no possible way she could cheat. Pepper nodded; eager to get this finished with. When the professor told her she could begin, Pepper attacked the first question, stuffing a sandwich in her mouth.

_Explain the wand movement used in animal transfiguration..._The first question read. Pepper readied her quill with black ink, and touched it to the paper.

_The wand movement used in animal transfiguration is quick, caused by a snapping of the wrist..._

Emerging from the Transfiguration, Pepper felt confident that she'd done well. She also felt very full. She wondered how many sandwiches she had eaten in her nervousness.

Hitching her bag over her shoulder in satisfaction, she walked to Ancient Runes, where she met up with Hermione. "How was it?" Hermione asked her as Pepper took a seat next to her.

"Easier than I expected," Pepper answered, pulling out her textbook. "And Professor McGonagall provided me with a plate of sandwiches that refilled itself...this place will never cease to amaze me. So, how was lunch, then?"

"Harry seemed a bit uncomfortable...Ron was...erm..._fondling_ me under the table," Hermione said uneasily.

"Hermione Granger! Well I never!" Pepper exclaimed in surprise. "What do you mean **_fondling_**?"

"He was rubbing my leg under my robes. Just by my knee, not really high," she added hastily, seeing the look of shock and horror on Pepper's face. Hermione blushed. "After what he heard yesterday, when we were talking about them...well, he said he was glad I thought he was sexier, he just wanted to get me back for what I said about Harry..." Hermione finished lamely.

"Oh, did Harry have any more to say about the Ass Comment?" Pepper asked.

Hermione smiled at Pepper's given name for what happened. "No, it appears you've straightened him out. What'd you do anyway?"

"A little persuading," Pepper smirked, recalling the events that occurred that very morning.

_She'd snuck up the boys' dormitories stairs early in the morning, before anyone in Gryffindor was awake. Entering the 6th year boys' room, she had quickly picked out Harry's bed. Parting the hangings, she stealthily crept into his bed. She had lay down next to him and stared into his sleeping face. Kissing his nose to wake him, Harry stirred and opened his eyes. "Pepper!" he'd exclaimed. She'd put a finger to her lips. _

"_I've got to talk to you," she had whispered. "I know you were making fun of Hermione last night after I was asleep and she went back to the common room. Now we both know that your ass is nicer than Ron's and Hermione was simply agreeing with me. So, I'd be much obliged if you stopped tormenting her about the Ass Comment, it was embarrassing enough for her as it was. And if you don't I'll be mad and I won't kiss you for a week. So there."_

_Harry had looked fairly amused at the speech Pepper had given him. Somewhat reluctantly, he had agreed. Knowing what was coming next, Pepper discreetly placed a Fresh Breath Charm on them and, sure enough, Harry said something corny and kissed her. _

_Just as they had been getting into it, there was a mumbling from the next bed and Ron stuck his head through Harry's hangings. His mouth had been poised to ask his friend a question, but when he took in the sight before him, his eyes bulged. _

"_Morning Ron," Pepper had said sweetly. With a final kiss to Harry, she slid out of his bed and hurried down to the common room. _

"Miss Halliwell," a voice called, snapping Pepper out of her revive.

Her head snapped to attention at the front of the room. "Sorry, Professor. What was the question?"

"I asked you what you found most interesting in your readings last night," the professor repeated for her.

"How was the exam?" Harry asked as they took their seats in Potions.

"Pretty easy," Pepper answered. "I ate so many sandwiches though...hey," she said, lowering her voice. "You didn't give Hermione any trouble, did you?"

"No," Harry said. "But Ron asked me what the two of us were doing this morning. I told him you'd come to ask me something, I figured he wouldn't be too happy if I brought up the, er, "Ass Comment," to him again. I don't think he fully bought what I said, though."

Pepper shrugged. "I think you were right in telling him that. I don't think he'd have been to happy if you had said anything about the Ass Comment either. Thanks for not saying anything to Hermione, by the way." She gave Harry a peck on the cheek.

Snape, once again, paired Pepper with Malfoy and she begrudgingly trudged over to his table and took a seat beside him. She saw his eyes sparkled maliciously, something they only did when he had gotten great dirt on somewhere.

"You're dating Potter, are you," he whispered.

"So what if I am?" Pepper hissed, hiding her face behind a measuring cup.

Malfoy sniggered. "The Golden Boy and his Gryffindor Whore..."

"You know, I don't know why you think you're so much better than everyone else," Pepper said, trying not to move her lips too much as she looked down at her reference book to check how to slice her adleroot. "I'm a pureblood too."

"Now, I don't think I believe you," Malfoy snickered. "I've never heard of the Halliwell's, and father is associated with all the rich pureblood families. Unless they're like the Weasley's – " he shot a hateful glance at Ron, "and I don't believe you're poor, Halliwell."

"And why's that?" Pepper asked, adding ingredients to the cauldron.

"I can tell," Malfoy said plainly.

"I am a pureblood, for you information," Pepper told him quietly, noticing Snape was walking their way.

"No your not," Malfoy said. "I've never heard of you."

"Perhaps your father's slipped up," Pepper sneered. "Or perhaps my family's just too important for your father to know."

Malfoy seemed to grow angry at this comment. "Or you're just to lowly for my father to know," he replied coldly.

"Nah," Pepper said nonchalantly. "But, I just have to let you know that I am, in fact, pureblood. That's all you need to know."

"Ten points from Gryffindor, Halliwell. There is no talking in my class. You will be receiving a detention the next time it happens," Snape said coolly, coming up behind Pepper. Malfoy smirked. Pepper rolled her eyes at Snape's back as he walked back to the front of the classroom.

"I think you're a Mudblood, Halliwell," Malfoy said, trying to provoke her.

"I'm not," Pepper replied curtly. "I should wash out your foul mouth, Malfoy."

"Mudblood," Malfoy taunted.

"I'm pureblood," Pepper said, her teeth gritted. "And I don't care what the hell you say." She wished he'd stop talking to her because every time he did, she _had_ to retort and she didn't want Snape to give her a detention. That would give Malfoy too much satisfaction. Even if she said she didn't care what he said, she cared enough to talk back to him.

"Maybe I should wash _your_ foul mouth, Halliwell," said Malfoy, raising a platinum blonde eyebrow. "I'd bet yours had touched fouler things that mine, what with the fact you're getting it on with Potter."

"I am NOT getting it on with Harry," Pepper murmured angrily. "And I'm sure even if I was, Parkinson is fouler than he is. In fact, you're fouler to begin with." She was beginning to feel childish, playing silly games like this with Malfoy.

"I'm sure..." Malfoy said, a smirk still on his face. "Potter's bad then, is he. That's why you're trying to deny that you're now tainted. Because, of course you were a virgin, am I right? No one but Potter would want to touch Mudblood scum."

Pepper was having a hard time keeping control of her temper. She was afraid to move her hands in fear she would freeze something, which is what happened when she was livid, so she carefully added the ground salamander's tail in silence.

"Struck a nerve, did I?" Malfoy said. "Knew you were a dirty Mudblood whore."

Pepper's fists clenched. She took deep breaths through her teeth. Last time she was this mad she...

"What the hell...?" she heard Malfoy say.

Pepper looked next to herself, praying that Malfoy wasn't referring to what she imagined he was. But, alas, what she thought was right. Soon the whole class was letting out gasps of surprise and stopping their potion work to stare at what was now standing beside Pepper.

She shut her eyes and opened them again, hoping it wasn't really happening. But when she opened them she saw two more Pepper Halliwells gazing back at her. "Shit," she muttered. Usually, when she was really angry she only cloned herself once. But, she realized, Malfoy, it appeared, made her very mad.

"You insufferable bastard!" one of her clones began to yell at Malfoy. "Who the hell are you to call me a MUDBLOOD! I'm a fucking PUREBLOOD, though I'm glad I'm not like you!"

Her other clone stood there, her head tilted to the side, looking thoughtfully at Malfoy. "You are quite good looking, though." It walked around till it was looking at Malfoy's back. "Nice ass."

While the other one was still shouting at him. "It's none of your FUCKING business what family I'm from! So what if you haven't heard of the Halliwells! Maybe that's my MOTHER'S MAIDEN NAME!"

The real Pepper rubbed her forehead vigorously, willing the two clones to go away. Cloning was the least developed of her powers. They came in useful when she needed to fool demons, and they could fight, but she didn't know how to get rid of them and she didn't know how to control what they said. And what they usually said was quite embarrassing, like now, for example, because they spewed her innermost thoughts.

The second clone walked around Malfoy, who was standing there stiff as a board as clone number two picked up his hair and examined it. "Get rid of the gel, Malfoy. I'd imagine your hair is much sexier down. All floppy. Like Harry's for example. Now his hair is sexy."

Pepper was blushing the hardest she'd ever blushed. It seemed the class was too stunned to do anything, even laugh. Snape appeared stunned too. The clones were just making her madder and she was afraid that another one might appear. She wanted to make a dash for the door, but she would surely get detention for that, though she was probably already getting detention, and her feet didn't seem to want to move.

"You are such a fucking asshole, why don't you get over yourself!" clone one was shouting. "You're no better than anyone in this room! You're just a fucking suck up! You're not even that smart! Hermione is a lot brighter than you, in more than one sense! I'm sure I'M even smarter than you, and I've only been here for two fucking months!"

"Your face is really cute," the other clone was ranting, now holding Malfoy's face between its hands. "Really great eyes."

Suddenly, as if out of thin air, another clone appeared. The real Pepper groaned loudly. The third clone wasted no time in getting to work embarrassing Pepper.

It fixated its eyes on Harry and smiled widely.

"And I've never screwed Harry Potter!" the first clone was screaming at Malfoy. "And I don't even think I'd want to!"

"I would," the third clone was saying thoughtfully, not moving from its spot by the first clone. "He looks like he'd be really good in bed."

Pepper prayed that none of the clones would mention anything about Harry being her soul mate. They'd already revealed enough about her, though no one knew this was what she really thought. She didn't think she wanted to sleep with Harry...

"No," the second clone said, dropping Malfoy's face and getting closer to him, wrapping its arms around his neck. It looked into his face. "This is someone who would be good in bed."

"Heard you've done the whole school, Malfoy!" the first clone continued. "You've probably spread a fucking disease! I bet you've got hundreds of illegitimate children running around."

The third clone was getting closer to Harry, who was beginning to look almost as uncomfortable as Malfoy did. "Harry's ass is definitely nicer than that scumbag's," it said.

"I don't care who's got a nice, fucking ass!" the first clone shouted. "I could have the best damn ass in the whole damn school but that still doesn't give him the right to call people horrible names when he doesn't even have proof they're Muggleborns! And even if they are it still doesn't give him the right to call them names! I can think of plenty of names to call him!"

The third clone was now leaning over the desk Harry was sitting at with Ron, and it was staring Harry in the face. It looked back and forth from Ron's face to Harry's before saying, "Harry is so much better looking than Ron. Floppy hair is sexy – " it looked at the other two clones. "– don't you agree?"

The second clone, still attached to Malfoy, nodded its head. It tried to un-gel Malfoy's hair by running its hands through it. "Gelled hair doesn't look very good..." It turned to look at Hermione, who, as Pepper saw with dismay, was trying not to laugh. "Hermione, like I said before, next year when you're Head Girl, you should take his hair gel, or something." It turned back to look at Malfoy's face, which was bearing a look of almost terror. "I'm sure you use a gallon of this stuff a day. It's, like, hard as a rock." It pressed itself against Malfoy, closing the small gap between them that had been there before. "Speaking of hard as a rock..."

Guessing what was coming next, since Malfoy had a body pressed up against his, Pepper wracked her brains for a way to stop anything else from happening, but she couldn't think of any way to get rid of them. The way she'd gotten rid of them before was to vanquish the demon, but there was no demon here. Unless you counted Malfoy as a demon, but she couldn't vanquish him.

"See! That's what I'm talking about!" the first clone exclaimed. "And he called ME a whore!"

"Golden Boy and his Gryffindor Whore, actually," the third clone said, still staring Harry in the face. "Third time he's called me a whore in fact."

"But he's the fucking whore!" the first clone shouted.

The second clone was putting its face really close to Malfoy's, almost as if it wanted to kiss him and the third clone was putting _its_ face close to Harry's, and Pepper knew it would kiss him. Wait, she thought, I don't want to kiss Malfoy, and they're only supposed to say and do what I think and feel...

Harry pushed his chair back, as far away from the clone as possible. He looked very confused. Malfoy, on the other hand, wasn't drawing his head back at all. It appeared that he wanted to kiss her...? No, he was just too shocked to move.

Pepper would have laughed at the sight of a very shocked, and somewhat frightened, Malfoy, if it wasn't for the fact that these clones were telling the whole class and Professor Snape her innermost thoughts and secrets. She tried to think of a way to stop them, she was getting desperate and it was just a matter of time before Snape gathered himself and stepped in.

"Aww, Harry, don't you want to kiss me?" the third clone asked, pouting. Harry didn't seem to know how to respond to this.

Meanwhile, the second clone pressed its lips to Malfoy's, and Malfoy knew how to respond to _that_. Pepper and the rest of the class observed Malfoy kissing Pepper's clone back. Pepper's eyes opened wide in surprise. Malfoy was, in a sense, kissing Pepper.

"See! He's a fucking whore! Going against his beliefs and kissing the person he thinks is a MUDBLOOD! You fucking hypocrite!" the first clone shouted.

"But Harry, we're soul mates!" the third clone whined.

Pepper blanched. The soul mate thing had come up. She had to do something now. She wondered if Leo could hear her calling from all the way over here...but then they would think she was really strange.

Then it hit her; she could FREEZE them! Although if they were her they wouldn't freeze. She had to stop them...She remembered that everyone in the room would freeze if she made the move to freeze them. The words of Dumbledore popped into her head. He didn't want her to use her powers on any of the students. Her powers were already out of hand, though, and she was embarrassed beyond reason, so she decided to risk it.

"Hey!" clone two said. It stopped kissing the frozen Malfoy and looked sadly at Pepper. "He's a really good kisser."

"What the hell are you doing?" Pepper asked it angrily.

"Well, he's hard so I thought I'd do him a favor," it said, trying to pull an innocent face.

Pepper looked disgusted. "He's _hard_?!" she said, amazed.

"Yea, why not?" it replied, reminding Pepper uncannily of her Aunt Phoebe when she was trying to get away with something. "I mean," the clone continued, "he's been flirting with me for weeks. Clearly he'd like to bed me..."

"Shut up," Pepper said. "He has not. He hates me. Malfoy can't have _wanted_ me for weeks."

"Arrogant son of a bitch," the first clone said.

"Harry really looks like he needs some sex," the third clone added.

"Shut it, all three of you. I've got to find a way to get rid of you..." Pepper closed her eyes and breathed heavily. She concentrated on ways to rid the room of the presence of the clones, but before she could think of anything she heard three small _pop pop pop_ and when she opened her eyes, the clones had gone. Shrugging, she figured it would be best if she unfroze the class, so she did.

The contents of the classroom looked around, extremely perplexed. Malfoy opened his eyes and unpuckered his lips, his cheeks twinging pink. Pepper knew it would be a moment before all of the events that had just occurred would hit everyone, and they'd start laughing and sniggering. It turned out that Pepper wouldn't be unfortunate enough to witness that because a few seconds after the clones disappeared and he was unfrozen, Snape reprimanded her.

"Miss Halliwell," he said dangerously. "I shall escort you to the Headmaster's office. The rest of you, continue working, if I am not back by the end of the lesson, place your flasks on my desk."

Snape walked hurriedly from the room, Pepper closely following him.

Dumbledore welcomed them into his office. "What seems to be the problem, Professor Snape?" he asked calmly, inviting the two to sit.

"Miss Halliwell cloned herself in the middle of my class and proceeded to shout foul words and kiss Mr. Malfoy," Snape said. Pepper suppressed a giggle. When Snape put it like that, it sounded pretty funny.

"Miss Halliwell?" Dumbledore said, rounding on Pepper. "Would you please explain what happened, as Professor Snape didn't seem to fully grasp the situation?"

"I didn't mean to do it, Professor, honest," Pepper said at once, trying to clear herself from blame. "I can clone myself, it's another one of my natural powers. I can't control it very well; I'm not really sure how to control it, actually. When I get really angry they just _appear_. Malfoy was taunting me, calling me really bad names and things, so that's why it happened. At first two clones appeared and one was screaming it's head off at Malfoy, and the other one was... well, it was sort of hitting on him," Pepper said, her voice going higher when she said the last few words. "And I tried to make them go away, but I couldn't and then another one appeared and it sort of made its way over to Harry...they were all shouting and swearing and, er, saying bad things." She decided to leave out the part that the clones only said her innermost thoughts and feelings, just in case Snape tried to use it against her. "And then I tried really hard to think of a way to get rid of them, and they just disappeared. So as you can probably tell, Headmaster, I didn't mean to do it and I would have prevented it if I could, but I couldn't," Pepper finished.

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled at her, which she found slightly unnerving. He steepled his fingers together and looked at her. "Well, Miss Halliwell, that was a very interesting story. Though I am afraid, interesting as that was, that you will have to be punished for disrupting Professor Snape's class, even if you did not mean to. I'm sure the occurrence was not fully your fault, but I am sure there is a better way of channeling your anger."

"I thought a week's worth of detention's would suffice," Snape sneered coldly.

"I was thinking more along the lines of one night's detention and apologies to Misters Potter and Malfoy, Severus," Dumbledore told the Potions' Master. "And I believe Mr. Malfoy should be given a talking to about manners," he continued. "Now I believe you have a class waiting for you, I'll take care of Miss Halliwell."

Snape got up, nodded his head, and left Dumbledore's office, leaving Pepper very apprehensive. A detention with Snape. She would have to apologize to _Malfoy_! Pepper wasn't feeling up to face any of the students, let alone apologize to Malfoy. He'd be able to taunt her for the rest of her life. Though, she could retort, thankfully, since she learned that he kissed her.

"Miss Halliwell," Dumbledore said, bringing her back to the office. "I am going to have to ask you to control your powers, especially in classes with the Slytherins. As you may well be aware, some of them have parents who are Death Eaters, and they may tip off their parents about your powers and the lack of control you have over them."

"But, Professor, why does that matter?" Pepper asked, not having a clue as to what Dumbledore was going on about.

"Pepper, you are a weapon that can greatly increase our chances of winning over Voldemort. If he knows your powers before you fight him, then he will be prepared when you use them against him. You must work hard this year to develop your powers in your sessions with Professor Ardel do you understand me? It is of utmost importance," Dumbledore said solemnly.

Pepper nodded.

"Professor Snape shall tell you of the date of your detention, and I expect Misters Potter and Malfoy to be apologized to by next week."

Pepper nodded again.

"Good luck on your exams," he said, dismissing Pepper.

She walked out of the office and down the spiral staircase, wishing she was able to modify the memories of everyone in that class to save herself more embarrassment.


	15. Chapter 14: Detention in the Dungeons

**A/N: I've got so much to say so bare with me, or just scroll down and read the next chapter, whatever you prefer. **

**First off, my usual props to my reviewers. **

**Kirsten: thanks for reviewing, I think you'll find that the future chapters you've already sort of read are being changed before I post them...that includes this one. (I think you should make an account and post YOUR fanfiction, or at least email it to me...)**

**charmedsisters: I think that's it for Pepper's powers, but you never know what else will pop into my head...**

**Allison: Once again, thanks for the lovely review and I heart you and miss you too. **

**I also send out a thank you to my other reviewers, I love my reviews and they're greatly appreciated. **

**Secondly, I went shopping at this store called American Outlet, I'd never been in one before and I thought it was really cool, but the great thing was I walked in and right there on a manikin was a shirt that said "Sugar n' Spice, Not Always Nice!" I was so excited! There was my story title right on a shirt! So, of course, I got it. I also got really cool pants and a cami, but that's beside the point. **

**Thirdly, my brother is writing a story (though he has grammer problems!) and upon reading it I found that he stole my use of Elvish idea. So, I brought it up to him and he said he wasn't really stealing it and blah blah blah and that I was an idea-stealer because it was Tolkien that first came up with it. He's right, of course, but I did give Tolkien indirect credit in my last chapter. However, my man J.R.R. deserves his props for being so brilliant so here they are: J.R.R. Tolkien owns the Elvish language, I'm just borrowing it. **

**So there ADAM! Ha, I win. Anyway, I think I've rambled on enough, please enjoy this new chapter, even though it's not nearly as funny as the last one was.**

**!!!!!!!!!!!**

**Chapter Fourteen**

**!!!!!!!!!!!**

Pepper was very glad that she had an O.W.L. to take during dinner, so she didn't have to face anyone but Professor Flitwick, who hadn't seemed to have heard the news yet.

She hurried back to Gryffindor Tower once the test was done, getting there before most everyone. She hurried past the few people sprawled about the common room before they could say anything to her, or even realize who it was rushing by, and went up to her dormitory. Pulling books from her bag, she began to study for her two O.W.L.s that would take place tomorrow.

When the door creaked open to admit another person to the dorm, Pepper pretended to be asleep, but Hermione sat on her bed. "Pepper, I know you're not asleep," she said. "Now open your eyes before I force them open. I'd like to know what happened today in Potions. Harry and Ron want to know, too, especially Harry, I suppose...anyway, just get up."

Reluctantly, Pepper sat up and looked at Hermione. "I cloned myself," she said.

"Well, I sort of figured that, but how did you do it? That would be a complicated bit of magic," Hermione said.

"It's a natural power," Pepper said. "I don't use it very often. Clones just appear when I get mad and Malfoy was saying all this shit about me, so I got really pissed and clones appeared."

"Oh," said Hermione. "But was one yelling, one practically getting it on with Malfoy and one going after Harry? And why were they saying all that stuff?"

Pepper was unwilling to tell anyone that the clones acted on her thoughts and feelings, after all, she was still getting used to the idea that, deep down, she wanted to sleep with Malfoy _and _Harry. Talk about slut, she thought. Maybe Malfoy was right about me being a whore then...

She decided she should tell Hermione, since Hermione wouldn't tell anyone else and she sort of wanted to tell someone. "They act on my innermost thoughts and feelings," Pepper almost drawled, trying to sound bored with it.

"What?!" Hermione exclaimed. "You want to shag Harry! Pepper! Wait! Eww, you want to shag _Malfoy_? I mean, I know you think he's good looking and he's the Slytherin Sex God and everything but...Pepper! Why didn't you tell me?" Hermione said in a rush.

"Because I didn't know," Pepper whined in her defense. "I didn't think I even had the slightest interest in Malfoy. But, Hermione, he likes ME! He kissed my clone thing! He was practically down its pants right there!"

"Oh yea," Hermione said thoughtfully. "So part of you wants to shag Harry and another part wants to do Malfoy?"

"I guess so," Pepper said, shrugging. "My brain is very messed up. Personally, I give props to the first clone who was yelling its ass off at Malfoy."

"That was pretty entertaining," said Hermione.

"I saw," Pepper said, somewhat angrily. "You were _LAUGHING_ while I was dying of embarrassment! It wasn't very nice, Hermione."

"Sorry, but it was really funny. There were four Pepper's in the room, one yelling at the top of its lungs, one hitting on Malfoy, really freaking him out, one trying to kiss Harry and one who was red as a beet. You would've laughed to, if you were me."

"It's still not very nice," Pepper said, pursing her lips. "And what's really not nice is my punishment; I've got detention with Snape and I have to apologize to Harry and Malfoy. Snape wanted a weeks worth of detentions, which I think I would've liked better, instead of having to apologize to that scum. Ack, part of me is telling my brain that I don't think he's scum. After all, I was pressed up against him with my tongue down his throat."

"You've got to apologize to him?! But he was the one calling you foul names to get you going in the first place!" said an appalled Hermione.

"I know, it really sucks. But I wonder what it was like to kiss a clone. Was it like a real person? It seemed that way, it seemed they could touch each other and everything. Bet Malfoy wishes he could snog the real thing, though," Pepper said smugly.

"Pepper, you do realize that neither Harry nor Ron can know about the fact that they tell your thoughts and feelings. Harry would get really miffed, I can assure you that. Because that means you like Malfoy and not him, and yet you're _dating_ Harry."

"Not technically," said Pepper. "Technically, he hasn't asked me out yet, so he could be cheating on me for the whole house of Gryffindor, for all I know."

"You know he's not, Pepper. You know he really likes you. Plus, you two just found out you're soul mates! How can you say you like Malfoy when Harry's your soul mate?" Hermione asked, flustered. "He'll be really hurt Pepper, so you can't tell Harry."

"Believe me, I won't," Pepper said. "Besides, Hermione, you said yourself I could have other soul mates and I wouldn't have to stay with Harry forever. Not that I'm saying I'll get together with Malfoy. Hell, he thinks I'm Muggleborn, he'd never date me anyway. Not that I'm saying I _want_ to get together with Malfoy. When someone brings up that make out session between him and my clone, he'll probably just plead insanity or something. Plus, I didn't even know before a few hours ago I had any feelings for Malfoy. So if I can't even feel my feelings, then why act upon them?"

"Pepper, slow down. I say you should try this thing with Harry, since you two seem to be hitting it off really well, and see how it goes. If it doesn't work then it doesn't work, and you'll move on, perhaps to Malfoy. Just play it out for now, see if it works," Hermione advised knowingly.

"Alright," Pepper said warily. "I hope my miniscule feelings for Malfoy go away, though, it would sure help me a lot. Maybe my clone was saying all that sex stuff because I'm just wondering what it would be like to have sex, especially with the Slytherin Sex God. I've heard all those rumors about how good he is, how experienced, so maybe I just want to find out what it feels like, or something."

"Yea, but what about wanting to sleep with Harry?" Hermione wondered.

"Well, if its thoughts and feelings then maybe I'm thinking I have to have sex with him because we're supposed soul mates. Or maybe I like him enough to really want to do that. I don't think I do, though, I think I only want to loose my virginity if I love someone."

"Well, whatever it is, it's confusing," Hermione said. "Your clones made that quite clear. I bet Harry hopes your third clone was right in saying you wanted to sleep with him." Hermione shuddered.

"What?" Pepper asked.

"You and Harry having...eww..." Hermione said, sticking her tongue out and squinting her eyes in a disgusted face.

Pepper laughed. "Yea, well...just go away Hermione," she said lightly, "I want to get some sleep, I've got more tests tomorrow."

"'Night," Hermione said, mumbling under her breath about how things had changed and if Ron wanted to have sex with her...

Leaving the dormitory the next morning, Pepper was pelted with jeers and odd compliments as she entered the common room. It seemed as though every Gryffindor knew about her show in Potions yesterday and wanted to say something about it. Soon a crowd of people was around her, either snickering and rolling their eyes or clapping her on the back and telling her good job for doing what she did to Malfoy.

"Oy! Move!" a voice shouted and a familiar redhead and his friend came into view. "Pepper," Ron said, "What the hell happened yesterday?"

"We've gotta get out of here, then I'll explain," Pepper said, making her way from the crowd. She noticed Harry wasn't talking or even making eye contact with her.

They headed out of the portrait hole and down to breakfast. On the way, people in the hallways shot Pepper odd looks, and talked behind their hands at her. It seemed that the news had spread throughout the whole school. Pepper dreaded the fact that she had to apologize to Malfoy even more now, because she knew that news would probably spread too. She decided to get it over quickly.

Spotting Malfoy sitting at the Slytherin table, she strolled over there casually. Perplexed, Hermione, Ron and Harry followed.

"I don't know why she's getting all this credit, I'm the one with the upper fucking hand," Malfoy was saying angrily.

"Oh, Malfoy, sorry about that yesterday," Pepper said, less than sincere. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Dumbledore watching her. "Lovely little prank, wasn't it? So you like me, then? Fancy a snog, Malfoy?" Pepper asked, puckering her lips.

"Get the hell away from me, Gryffinwhore," Malfoy said, grinning evilly. Harry made a move to get to Malfoy but Pepper held her arm out to stop him.

"That insult is getting old. And I'm not until I know why you snogged my clone yesterday, Malfoy. I'm sure you didn't do it for a laugh. In fact, you seemed quite terrified. I'm not sure I blame you, though. I mean, having my pretty face come up to you after all of those ugly pigs you snog, must have been quite a treat, I imagine." A mass of Slytherin girls glared at Pepper and some made moves to get out of their seats, but Pepper held her hands up in surrender. "Fine, since Malfoy clearly doesn't want to admit his love for me, I'll just leave."

Pepper turned on her heel and headed over to the Gryffindor table, where she plopped heavily into her seat.

"What was that all about?" Ron asked. "And could you explain what happened yesterday? Harry and I would like it cleared up."

Pepper noticed that Harry had sat in his old seat – next to Ron – instead of sitting next to her, which he usually did now. "Harry, I just want to let you know I'm sorry about what happened yesterday, I didn't have any control over it," Pepper said to Harry. Hermione sent her a look that said 'Yes you did have control! It was your THOUGHTS!' Pepper chose to ignore this and waited for Harry to say something. Instead he just blushed. "Anyway, to tell you what happened," Pepper continued, launching into an explanation of her clones, only leaving out the part of what the clones acted upon.

The day passed with much stress on Pepper's part, as she had to take more O.W.L.s, and more jeers came her way. It did seem that the apology had gotten out, and somehow people knew that it was part of her punishment.

"I think I know a little about how you feel, Harry," Pepper said to him. They were sitting in the common room; Hermione was reviewing Pepper on her Astronomy, which she was to be taking tonight at midnight. "Everyone's been gawking at me and laughing behind their hands all day."

"Welcome to the life of the damned," Harry joked.

Pepper laughed and leaned backwards, resting her head on Harry's shoulder. "Hermione," she wined, "I'm all studied out. Can I take a break, please?"

"Alright," Hermione said, "I'll be in the dormitory." She got up and went up to the girls' dorms.

"But Pepper, don't you want to get seventy-five "Outstanding" O.W.L.s like Hermione?" Ron asked in a mock-surprised voice.

"No thanks," Pepper said. She sat up from her place on Harry's shoulder and glanced at the game of chess Harry and Ron were playing. Ron was winning by a mile, Harry only had a few pieces left and Ron was closing in for the check-mate. "Harry, Harry, you're doing it all wrong," Pepper scolded as she observed the stupid move Harry was about to make. "Now I'm not too good at chess, though I've probably played it more than you, judging by your moves...so move your butt, Harry."

"No," Harry said lightly. "I want to finish this game all by myself, thank you mommy."

Pepper let out a short growl at him and sat on Harry's lap. This took Harry by great surprise and it wasn't until Pepper made a move for him that he pushed her off. "Hey!" Pepper exclaimed. "Meanie! Fine, be that way, I'm going up to bed to take a nap before I've got to go to the Astronomy tower." With that, Pepper headed off to bed.

Lavender Brown, seeing Pepper Halliwell leave the room, took this as her opportunity to tell Harry an interesting bit of information she'd found out.

"Oh Harry," she said sweetly, sitting next to Harry, the place where Pepper had sat moments before.

"Yea, Lavender?" Harry asked, glancing up at her and then turning back to the game.

"Pepper wants to shag you," she said in a sing-song voice.

Ron and Harry both snapped their heads up to look at Lavender, who was grinning. Both of the boys looked incredibly shocked. "W-What?" Harry stuttered.

"She wants to shag you," Lavender repeated.

"How do you know?" Harry asked, knowing full well that Pepper didn't talk to Lavender since Lavender was mad at her for having a relationship with Harry. She must be making it up, then, Harry thought.

"I heard Pepper tell Hermione," Lavender said. "They were talking about what happened in Potions yesterday. Halliwell said her clone things acted on her feelings. Well, I'll see you later," she finished, getting up and going back to her conversation with Parvati.

Realization suddenly hit Harry like a ton of bricks. "Ron," he said sharply. "That means..."

"She wants to shag Malfoy," Ron said darkly.

The two sat there in silence for a moment, letting their thoughts churn before Harry scrambled to his feet and stood at the bottom of the stairs to the girls' dormitories. "PEPPER HALLIWELL!" he shouted angrily. "GET YOUR CHEATING ARSE DOWN HERE NOW!"

Harry had gotten all of the common room's attention and they watched as Harry stood there, fuming, and waiting for Pepper to show her face.

She appeared a few minutes later at the top of the stairs in pajamas (not the see through ones) and an unorganized look about her. Clearly she had been sleeping. "Wha' Harry?" she mumbled.

"YOU WANT TO SHAG MALFOY?" Harry shouted.

This comment caused Pepper to wake up a bit more. "What the fuck're you on about, Harry?" she asked, trying to keep the guilt from her voice. She saw that all of the Gryffindors in the common room were currently staring at them and some were coming out of the dormitories.

"YOU WANT TO SHAG MALFOY!" he repeated, though it wasn't a question this time.

"I don't want to _shag_ Malfoy, as you so bluntly put it. Who the hell told you that?" Pepper wondered, making her way down the stairs towards the fuming Harry. "And for god's sake, will you lower your damn voice?" She reached Harry and stared wearily at him.

"Lavender told me about what your clones do, Pepper, and she said you wanted to shag me," Harry hissed, his voice lowered considerably.

Pepper paled. "What? I do not want to have sex with you, Harry Potter, as much as you may want me to. And I certainly do not want to have sex with Draco Malfoy. Did you ever think that Lavender just may be making it up? No, I bet you didn't."

Harry blushed a little bit. "So they don't act on your feelings?" he asked in a lot calmer tone than he had been talking.

"Yes, they do," Pepper answered, not really wanting to lie to Harry. She watched as he clenched his fists in anger. "But they also act on my thoughts."

"Then you were thinking about shagging Malfoy," Harry said in the tone he had been using before.

"I guess so, though I didn't realize it," Pepper answered. "It's alright, Harry, please don't be mad. I'd much rather be with you than be with Malfoy. Although, my feelings may have driven that third clone..." she added flirtatiously, pecking Harry on the lips. "See you tomorrow," she said, going back to her dorm to do more studying before her O.W.L. at midnight.

Harry stood there, somewhat dumbstruck, for a few moments before everyone in the common room lost interest in his affairs and went back to what they were previously doing. Ron came over and clapped Harry on the back.

"So, mate, d'you still reckon she wants to shag Malfoy?" he asked Harry.

"I dunno," Harry said. "I think she wants to sleep with me, though." Harry felt a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth, but he suppressed it, not wanting Ron to know that he wanted to sleep with Pepper.

"Well, I don't think you've got anything to worry about, Harry, I haven't seen her sneaking off to the dungeons or anything," Ron assured his best friend.

"Not yet, anyway," Harry said gloomily.

The next day, after dinner, Pepper was studying for her next O.W.L. when Hermione came bursting through the portrait hole.

"Pepper!" she exclaimed. "I've got the owl Hagrid was taking care of!" Hermione rushed over to Pepper, an owl perched precariously on her shoulder. "Hagrid says it doesn't belong to anyone, so I thought the two of us could share it. I know you don't want to use the school owls all the time and you send your aunts so many letters. And I'll need it from time to time, but you'll have your own owl!" Hermione said all in one breath.

"Cool!" Pepper shouted.

"I'll take it up to the Owlery, it needs some food and rest," Hermione said.

"What's its name?" Pepper asked, stroking the bird on Hermione's shoulder.

"I dunno, I was thinking something like...Cadee or Sharvani or Cashlinn," Hermione said, blushing a little.

"Oh," said Pepper, "So you've thought about it, then. Well I sort of like Cashlinn..."

"Ok," Hermione said brightly. "Cashlinn it is then. So I'll just take her up to the Owlery and we can use her when we want!"

Pepper smiled and nodded before Hermione sped out of the common room as fast as her feet could carry her.

"Hey Pepper," another voice said, coming over and sitting next to her.

"Yes, Harry?" Pepper asked. She wondered if he was still mad about yesterday. He had been more distant today...

"I was wondering...what you said yesterday...do you really want to shag me?" Harry asked in a whisper.

Pepper looked down at the table. "I dunno Harry. I believe I was just thinking it, but I'm not sure."

"Oh," Harry said.

"Well, I've got to go, I have detention with Snape," said Pepper. "I'm sorry for the other day, Harry, I'm not sure what I was thinking." Getting up, she gathered her books and slid them in her bag before exiting through the portrait hole. She hurried down to the dungeons, not wanting to be late.

When she arrived she knocked on the door. "Come in," Snape said coldly. She pushed the door open and entered the room. Professor Snape stood up and glared at her. "You will be reorganizing my supply cabinet," he told Pepper. "Clean up any broken vials, wipe off the shelves and sort the ingredients by alphabetical order. No magic. Check with me when you are done." With that, he left the room and entered his office, leaving Pepper alone.

"Bloody hell," she whispered. "No magic...this is going to take me forever." She made her way over to the supply cabinets and opened the glass doors.

Two hours later, she knocked on the door to Snape's office. After he checked her work and it was to his satisfaction, she was free to go.

Trudging up to Gryffindor tower, she ran into Malfoy on the way (literally), who wasn't accompanied by Crabbe or Goyle. "Watch where you're going, Mudblood," he sneered.

"For the last time Malfoy, I am not Muggleborn," Pepper said tiredly. "Now will you move your horny ass so I can go to bed? I know you want to bed me but can you save it for another night?"

In a flash Malfoy whipped his wand out and pointed it in Pepper's face. "Are you going to hex me, Malfoy?" she asked sarcastically. He backed her into the wall by pushing his wand forward, causing Pepper to move backwards.

Lifting his wand under her chin, he lifted her head up, so their eyes were level. "Watch what you say, Halliwell," he hissed. "Someone just might believe that I do want to fuck you." Much to Pepper's surprise, he leaned in and placed his lips on hers, lowering his wand in the process.

Pepper's immediate reaction was to kiss him back, so that's what she did. She relaxed at his touch and he noticed this. Putting his hands around her waist, he pulled her in closer and licked her lip to ask for entrance to her mouth. Against her better judgment, she let his tongue in her mouth as she wrapped her fingers in his gelled hair.

Pulling up for air a few minutes later, Pepper saw that Malfoy had a smug smirk on his face. Realizing what she had just done, a look of utmost horror grew on Pepper's face. "You kissed me," she accused, narrowing her eyes at Malfoy.

"Knew you were smarter than you looked, Halliwell," Malfoy said. And with a smirk, he strolled down the corridor, back to his common room.

Pepper moaned. Covering her face with her hands, she slid her back down the stone wall, sitting on the floor. "I just snogged Malfoy," she groaned, hitting the back of her head on the wall. "And I _enjoyed_ it. Shit, _I'm_ the hot enemy secretly lusts for. I'm so sorry Harry."


	16. Chapter 15: Quidditch and Masqerades

**A/N: I was reluctant to put this chapter up because I only got two reviews but I must keep posting! Thanks to my two lone reviewers, I still appreciate getting feedback. I don't really have anything to say...so on with the chapter! **

**-Flyaway Dove**

**!!!!!!!!!!**

**Chapter Fifteen**

**!!!!!!!!!!**

Pepper's O.W.L.s were drawing to a close, and after a month of tedious work, she was very glad. Harry hadn't been informed of the kiss she'd shared with Malfoy, but the question Harry had asked Pepper about sleeping with him still remained unanswered. Hermione and Ron were getting along famously, and the two could rarely been seen apart.

Malfoy had gone back to his own habits of taunting Pepper, and Pepper went along with him, not wanting anyone to suspect something had happened between them.

Lessons with Professor Ardel were tiring Pepper out with every session, though the professor was helping her channel her anger better, so clones didn't randomly appear anymore.

Pepper's flying lessons with Harry weren't much in the way of lessons anymore, since all Harry did was fly them up to the stands to make out, but sometimes they did do a little flying. Pepper had let Harry go a little farther than kissing, since she felt bad about snogging Malfoy.

The potion for the Féminin Vivreencore Curse had not been found yet and Hermione was beginning to become discouraged because they'd looked through almost every potions book in the library.

"Hermiiiiiiio-neeeee," Pepper sang into her roommate's ear one morning.

Hermione shot up in her bed. "What?" she asked blearily, rubbing her eyes with one hand. "Oh, Pepper," she said, consciousness settling upon her. "Quidditch already?"

"Yes, now hurry up; we've got to get down to breakfast!" Pepper exclaimed, moving from Hermione's bed to make room for the girl to get up.

"Why?" Hermione wondered, reluctantly climbing from her bed. "Can't we meet up with them later? I like my sleep, thanks."

"We've got to cheer on Harry and Ron, silly!" Pepper answered. "We can be their cheerleaders this morning, before the rest of the school does the job for us."

"Pepper, I understand this is your first Quidditch match, but why can't we just go down to breakfast at a _normal_ time? I bet Harry and Ron aren't even awake yet."

"Oh, I bet they are," Pepper replied, a mischievous glint in her eye.

"Pepper," Hermione moaned.

"Goooo HARRY! Gooooo RON!" Pepper and Ginny were chanting, waving fake pom-poms in the air, causing the students in the stands with them to take a few steps back. The Gryffindor team was just filing onto the Quidditch pitch and Pepper and Ginny's cheers became louder. Ginny was twirling her Gryffindor scarf over her head until she hit a seventh year and then decided to stop and just cheer and dance around with Pepper instead.

"C'mon Hermione!" Ginny yelled. "We're having great fun!...Gooooooo GRYFFINDOR!"

"Nothing's happening yet," Hermione tutted. "You're acting like bloody children..."

Down on the Quidditch pitch the Gryffindor captain and the Slytherin captain were shaking hands under the advisement of Madame Hooch, the referee.

"And they're OFF!" the commentator announced as the teams mounted their brooms and soared into the air. "Spinnet has the Quaffle, she passes to Bell – back to Spinnet – SHOOT ALICIA! She shoots and – ooh, intercepted by Zabini of Slytherin who passes to Montague– Chaser Montague heads for the Gryffindor goal – no, someone stop him! Montague's going to score...OUCH, Montague gets hit by a Bludger from Finnagan and the Gryffindors get possession again, Katie Bell has the Quaffle – she flies expertly past the Slytherin Chasers, dodges a Bludger, clear field towards the goal – she shoots – Keeper Bletchley dives for it and – he blocks it. Slytherin takes possession, Pucey of Slytherin has the Quaffle - he goes for the Gryffindor goal – shoots and – Slytherin scores! Ten-nil Slytherin!"

There were great groans from the Gryffindor stands but they were outweighed by the ones from the Slytherins, who waved their green and silver flags vigorously in the air. Pepper and Ginny shouted "Boooooo!" as loud as they could, but it didn't faze the Slytherin fans in the slightest.

"Spinnet has the Quaffle, she passes to Bell – Bell back to Spinnet – Alicia Spinnet of Gryffindor heads down the field, dodges Slytherins, heads for the goal – she shoots and – SCORES!"

This time it was the Gryffindors who cheered their hearts out, Pepper and Ginny doing a victory dance.

"Zabini gets the Quaffle – passes to Pucey who heads down the field – and is knocked almost off his broom by a Bludger! Katie Bell now has possession – throws it to – hang on, was that the Snitch I saw?"

The crowd looked around and several people pointed high in the air, where the Snitch was now hovering next to one of the Slytherin Beaters. Both Harry and Malfoy – the Slytherin Seeker – shot towards it. But, just as they were about to reach it, it headed towards the ground, both Seekers in tow.

Meanwhile, the Quaffle was still being thrown around. As the boys chased the Snitch, lost it, found it, and started chasing it again, Gryffindor scored once and Slytherin another two times.

Pepper and Ginny were leaning over the edge of the stand, watching the race between the two Seekers and cheering Harry on. "Go Harry, it's your birthday!" Pepper sang-screamed.

"Where'd that come from?" Ginny asked.

"Muggle song," Pepper answered before returning to her cheering. "Ooh, they've almost got the Snitch...!"

"Potter and Malfoy are neck and neck chasing the Snitch and – GRYFFINDOR SCORES!" the commentator yelled. The Gryffindor stands erupted into cheers, though they were now paying attention to the race for the Snitch instead of the game.

Harry was ahead of Malfoy as the two raced around the Quidditch pitch at lightning speed, but it appeared either of them could get the Snitch. The spectators were on the edge of their seats as Slytherin scored again and the Seekers advanced on the fluttering gold ball. Finally, someone's hand closed around the Snitch. The stands were filled with cheering and booing.

"SLYTHERIN WINS THE GAME!" the commentator said somewhat dolefully, as he was a Ravenclaw and didn't really want Slytherin to win the match.

A great swell of noise came from the Slytherins as they cheered, and the Gryffindors and most of the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws tried to drown out the winning Houses' cheering with their booing, but it wasn't very effective as the Slytherins were ecstatic.

"Agh," Pepper groaned, she and Ginny giving up the idea of doing the victory dance they had planned on performing.

"But Harry's hardly ever lost a match," Ginny complained, "And it's never been to Slytherin!"

"Well we'd better get down there..." Hermione said as she started to make her way out of the stands, a dejected Pepper and Ginny following behind her. "I bet Harry and Ron feel badly, especially Harry, after all, the Snitch broke the tie."

It turned out that they couldn't talk to Harry and Ron until the two boys got back to the common room because the team had headed to the showers right after the end of the match.

The Gryffindor team dragged their feet up to the seventh floor and into the common room which was full of their unenergetic housemates. Ginny, Pepper and Hermione were gathered on the floor by the couch and Harry and Ron came over to join them. The girls made room for the boys to sit with them and they did, their faces not looking very happy.

"Hey, you flew really well today," Pepper said, pecking Harry on the cheek.

"Didn't win the game though, did I?" Harry mumbled.

"I shouldn't have let Slytherin score so much," Ron sighed.

"They still would have won, Ron," Hermione said condescendingly, "You know that as well as I do. Don't blame yourself."

"Yea, blame me," said Harry.

"Harry, don't beat yourself up over it, it's just a game," Pepper told him, not expecting the reaction she received.

"Just a game!" Harry and Ron exclaimed at the same time.

"Oh no," Hermione said, shaking her head. "Don't even start, Ron," she ordered, covering Ron's mouth with her hand as he opened his mouth to say something.

"Hey Hermione," Ron said, his voice muffled through Hermione's hand. "Why don't we have a bit of fun to cheer me up?"

Hermione's arm fell back into her lap. She glared coldly at the look he had upon his face. "If you are thinking what I believe you must be thinking then you can forget it, Ronald, and you can go find someone else to cheer you up." She got up and made her way up to the girls' dormitories muttering, "Boys..._honestly_..."

Pepper smiled. "Ron, why don't you ask her to be your girlfriend? Then maybe she wouldn't mind snogging you."

"I don't know why she doesn't like to snog in the first place," Ron said, his voice like it was when he'd first entered the room. "_I_ enjoy it...I could do it all the time."

"That's because you're a male, Ronald," said Pepper, mocking Hermione's way of scolding Ron. "Males are horny."

Ginny snickered. "Eww, Pepper, that's my brother, I don't want to think about that. That's just gross," she said.

"Not all males are horny," Harry said.

Pepper raised her eyebrow at him. "Are you saying you're an exception to that statement, Harry Potter? Because you aren't an exception. Like I said before: males are horny. Period, end of discussion. So there, Ginny and I win."

"Yep," said Ginny, sticking her chin in the air. "But then, girls always win. Anyhow, Ron, I agree with Pepper, I think you should ask Hermione to be your girlfriend."

"Well _I _think we should go visit Hagrid, Harry," Ron said, turning to his best friend.

Harry shrugged. "Alright...Pepper you coming?"

"Naw, but I'll go get Hermione for you," Pepper offered, getting up and going to her dormitory. "Hey, Mione, Ron and Harry are going down to Hagrid's, you wanna go with them?"

"Yea, sure," Hermione said, getting out of her bed. She and Pepper went back down to the common room where Harry and Ron were waiting for Hermione and Ginny was talking to Neville Longbottom. "You're not coming, Pep?" Hermione asked.

"Nope, you guys go ahead, I've got some homework to finish up," Pepper said. Hermione went over to Ron and Harry and the three of them exited the common room through the portrait hole and made their way down to Hagrid's hut.

"Something's wrong," Hermione pointed out to Harry and Ron once the three were on the fifth floor. "With Pepper, I mean."

"What are you talking about, Hermione?" Harry asked. "I haven't seen anything wrong with her. Maybe she's just homesick or something."

"I think something's bothering her..." said Hermione, pursing her lips. "It's like she feels guilty about something."

"What would she have to feel guilty over?" Ron asked. "I'm sure she would have told you, Hermione, you're her best friend, after all."

"Yes, well..." Hermione began, her cheeks turning a light shade of pink. "It just seems that she feels guilty, especially when she's around you, Harry."

"I haven't noticed," said Harry. "Don't you think I would've noticed something like that?"

"I dunno, you may be too horny around her to notice," Hermione giggled.

"What is it with women calling guys horny?" Ron asked, sighing heavily.

"What do you mean, Ron?" Hermione asked. "Who else said that?"

"Ginny and Pepper, not too long ago," Ron supplied.

"Oh, well, it must be true then, mustn't it, if all of us notice it," Hermione said.

"Anyway!" Harry said loudly. "When did you start noticing this, Hermione? That Pepper was acting guilty?"

"A few weeks ago," Hermione told him. "Come to think of it, she started acting especially nervous after her detention. I mean, she won't talk to me as easily anymore and I think she acts differently around Harry now. Plus, she's started hanging around with Ginny more lately."

"I did notice that, but is it a bad thing that she's hanging with Ginny more?" Harry wondered.

"No..." said Hermione, somewhat uneasily.

"Now that you mention it, I did notice that she's acting differently around Harry. She seems more eager to snog him, but...more withdrawn from him, I s'pose," Ron said.

"Exactly what I'm saying," Hermione said. "Harry, if you pay attention you'll see what I mean."

At lunch that afternoon, while Harry studied Pepper's behavior, Hermione brought up the Féminin Vivreencore Curse once again, saying that she had indeed checked every book in the library. "But then I thought, Hermione, why are you being so thick? Of course it wouldn't be in a simple Potions book, it's a difficult and dangerous potion so it would most likely be in a book in the Restricted Section."

Ron groaned. "Hermione, are you going to drag us into another dangerous scheme like you did with the Polyjuice Potion?"

"No, Ron, I am not. I just want to know what's in the potion," Hermione snapped. "Besides, you couldn't perform it anyways, only Pepper and Harry can do that."

"Err, Hermione...Harry and I actually...erm..." Pepper glanced sideways at Harry, who was making frantic gestures at Pepper not to tell Hermione. Pepper ignored him. "We, well...we wanted to actually..._use_ the spell..."

"Pepper, you can't! Do you realize how dangerous that is?" Hermione hissed. "Do you have any idea of the side effects? All of the things that could go wrong? You don't even have a place to make a potion like that!"

"Hermione, if you'll recall the place we made the Polyjuice Potion...we would brew it there," Harry said, his voice low.

"Still, Harry, you can't think of actually doing this! I read more about it – horrible things could happen if you do anything wrong! You certainly cannot want to risk your life to bring Snuffles back! It's only for a few hours, anyway!"

"Hermione, you don't understand, your parents are still alive," Pepper said, almost pleadingly. "Me and Harry, we've lost both our parents. I want to see my dad. I didn't even get a chance to say good bye to him." Pepper felt a stinging at the back of her eyes, which meant she was about to cry. A tear escaped her eye but she continued. **(A/N: Pepper is so dramatic! It's annoying, isn't it?)** "I want to see my dad again, Hermione. I need to."

"But...but there's got to be another way, Pepper," Hermione said, her tone softening. "Maybe there's another spell..."

"I only know of ones to bring back sort of holograms," Harry said. "Not a full, solid person for three days."

"Will you at least promise me that you won't do it for a while, even if you find the potion?" Hermione asked.

"It will probably take a while to make, you know," Harry said. "But, yea, we promise."

"Good," said Hermione. "Now let's go, we've got to get to Charms on time."

!!!!!!!!!!!

A Masquerade Ball was to take place at the beginning of December, to celebrate Christmas. The students were not to go with a date, but were to dance with whomever they wished. The unmasking would take place at midnight.

Fourth through seventh year students were allowed to have an extra trip to Hogsmede the third Saturday in December so they could purchase their costumes for the ball.

"Hermione, what do you think you'll go as?" Pepper asked her friend as they walked down the High Street.

"I dunno. I was thinking a hippie would be cool. Though, I'd have to add a mask, wouldn't I?" Hermione said.

"A hippie," Pepper repeated. "You mean a Muggle person from our parents' generation?"

"The very same," Hermione answered. "What do you want to go as, Pepper?"

"I was thinking about being someone from the Victorian Era. A princess perhaps. They wore those fancy masks to balls and things, so I could do the same."

"Oh, plus Professor Flitwick said he'd be teaching us the Glamour Charm, didn't he? And Professor Snape said we would be learning how to make a Voice Altering Potion so we wouldn't sound like ourselves," Hermione pointed out.

"Dang, this really is going to be a Masquerade Ball, isn't it? Have you guys had them before?" Pepper wondered as they entered Cecile's Costume Room to find something to wear to the ball.

"No, this is our first one. A few years ago during the TriWizard Tournament we had a ball, but we wore dress robes, not costumes," Hermione explained.

"Did you have a date Hermione?" Pepper asked, interested.

Hermione's cheeks turned pink. "Viktor Krum," Hermione answered. "He was one of the champions in the tournament."

"Oh, he's the duck-footed famous Quidditch player Ron always talks about, then?" Pepper said. "Who'd Harry and Ron go with?"

"Parvati and her sister Padma," said Hermione. "Though, I don't think the girls were too happy because Ron and Harry didn't dance too much."

"I don't understand things like that," Pepper said, looking through a rack of costumes. "How could you not dance when there's music on? I mean, I do it sometimes even when there isn't music."

"Well the band Dumbledore booked is a little strange," Hermione said, holding up a costume, looking at it and returning it to the rack. "I don't think they're really like the bands you listen to, but they're very famous here in the Wizarding world."

"Who are they?" Pepper asked.

"The Weird Sisters," Hermione answered. "They're music is a bit...strange. I hope there's someone else for this ball."

"Aha!" Pepper exclaimed, holding up a costume gown that she discovered. "This is perfect!" It was a maroon-ish color that was tight on the top with a huge poofy skirt. There were intricate designs covering it and it was just what Pepper had been looking for. "Now I just need a mask...I think they're up at the counter, I'll be right back Hermione." Pepper went up to the counter to find a mask that would match her dress. The masks were in the counter, which was made of glass, and all along the wall behind the cashier.

"Would you like the matching mask, miss?" the cashier asked. Before waiting for an answer she said, "Seven forty two, please," and a mask disappeared from the wall to appear a millisecond later on the counter. "Nice taste in costumes I see, that will be eleven Galleons and two Sickles, please."

Pepper pulled out her money and handed over the coins as the woman put her things in a bag. With her bag in hand, Pepper headed back over to Hermione to see if she'd found anything yet. "Any luck?" Pepper asked Hermione when she found her.

"Not yet...ah, here, this is what I want," Hermione decided, pulling something from the stand. It was a hippie costume, just what Hermione had said she'd wanted. The outfit consisted of bellbottom pants with peace signs and hippie sayings all over them. There was also a tie-dyed top and a peace sign medallion.

"You're going to need some face paint and bangles to go with that, Mione," Pepper said, trying to not laugh at Hermione's choice in costume.

"First I need the mask," said Hermione. "Don't laugh Pepper! My parents were hippies!"

"Sorry," Pepper squeaked. "I just think it's...funny...oh just get the mask, woman, so we can get out of here. Didn't you tell Harry and Ron we were going to meet them at the Three Broomsticks for a butterbeer or something?"

"Yes, alright, I'll hurry..."

After Hermione purchased her costume, she and Pepper made their way to the Three Broomsticks. "You've never had a butterbeer, have you Pepper?" Hermione asked, recalling that they hadn't visited the Three Broomsticks on their last Hogsmede trip.

"Nope, I haven't," Pepper replied.

Harry and Ron were already waiting for them at a table when they arrived, so they joined the two boys. "I see your costume hunting was successful," Harry said, kissing Pepper on the cheek as she slid into the seat next to him.

"Yep, my costume is really cool and Hermione's is...well...." Once again, Pepper fought the urge to laugh.

"Mine's cool too, _Pepper_," said Hermione.

"Well let's see then," Ron said, trying to look in Hermione's bag.

"Nope, you'll have to wait until the ball," Hermione said, snatching her bag away from Ron. Ron looked at her with puppy dog eyes. "And that won't work, Ron. You'll just have to wait till the unmasking like every body else."

"But Mione," Ron pleaded. Hermione shook her head and that was the end of their conversation.

"Pepper, can I see yours?" Harry asked offhandedly, trying to catch her off guard and let him see it.

"Nice try, Harry, but no," Pepper said.

"By request of the Headmaster, who thought you all earned the right to have some..._fun_, you are going to learn how to brew a Voice Altering Potion today," Professor Snape drawled as he paced across the room. "You need not work in pairs. The instructions are on the board. You are to bring me your sample vials by the end of the class and we are to test them tomorrow. Begin."

Pepper was very happy that she didn't have to work with Malfoy this class and that she was able to keep her original seat next to Hermione. Getting her supplies from the newly organized supply cabinet (thanks to herself), she sat back down next to Hermione, who was already chopping ingredients to her heart's content.

Pepper's cauldron bubbled teal before she placed some of the frothy mixture into her glass vial. Labeling it with her name, she placed it on Snape's desk.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A/N: Gryffindor loosing the Quidditch match was my friend's idea, so don't kill me. REVIEW! You know you want to...


	17. Chapter 16: After Effects

**A/N: Once again, thank you to my wonderful reviewers, you rock. **

**Kirsten: It was Lexi's idea to have Slytherin win, she's the brilliant genius. Really, I just asked her who should win and she randomly said Slytherin, so I don't know if she's really a brilliant genius, but oh well. **

**Big hugs and thank yous to my other reviewers, but I don't want to keep you waiting so here's the other chapter! **

**It's the MASQUERADE BALL!!! **

**!!!!!!!!!!**

**Chapter Sixteen**

**!!!!!!!!!!**

"Harry, has Hermione told you what book the spell's bound to be in?" Pepper whispered to Harry a few days later. They were at dinner and Hermione and Ron were immersed in a flirty conversation, so Pepper figured it would be safe to mention the Curse to Harry.

"No, I don't think she knows," Harry whispered back.

"Well we've got to find it but we can't get in the Restricted Section without a note from a teacher, right?"

"In most cases, yes, but we've got an Invisibility Cloak..." Harry said.

"I take it you've done this before."

"More than once," was Harry's reply. "Tonight we can go down there, after the library's closed."

"Sounds like a plan," Pepper said.

That night after everyone was asleep Pepper and Harry met in the common room. "Ready?" Harry asked, pulling out his Invisibility Cloak.

"As I'll ever be," Pepper responded. They stood close together and Harry threw the cloak over the two of them, making them disappear to any onlookers. In unison, they headed out of the common room and made their way quietly down the stairs to the library.

The door creaked open as they entered, and they had to pause for a minute to let their eyes adjust to the musty darkness. Harry pulled out a flashlight as they headed towards the back of the library to the Restricted Section.

Pepper ducked out from under the cloak and began searching books for the Féminin Vivreencore Curse. Harry did the same, though he kept the cloak on. Pepper pulled numerous books from the shelves and flipped through the pages, but she found nothing in any of them.

"Harry, have you found anything yet?" she asked her partner in crime an hour later.

"No...ah! Yes, I have! Right here, come look," Harry replied.

"Where are you? You've got the Invisibility Cloak on!"

"Oh, right," Harry said, walking over to Pepper and dragging her under the cloak with him.

Harry and Pepper stared at a page entitled, **Féminin Vivreencore Curse; the Potion and Its' After Effects**. "This looks like what we're looking for," Pepper breathed, in awe that they'd actually found the potion. "I think we should rip the page out and put the book back or write the potion down. The latter might be the safest way to go."

"I agree," Harry said, pulling out a piece of parchment and a quill. While Pepper held the book, Harry copied the page as quickly as he could, since they had already spent enough time in the library. "Let's go."

The two invisible Gryffindors crept from the library and made their way back to their common room. Once they arrived there, they parted ways and went to bed, the potion in Harry's pocket.

The next morning the Gryffindors had Herbology and it was there that Harry and Pepper bent their heads over the parchment that held the secret to bringing Sirius back. It was a difficult task to do this; they had to make sure Professor Sprout didn't see what they were doing. Pepper's eyes widened in shock as she read the page that sported the potion and the effects it could cause. "Harry, I think we'd better finish reading this later," she hissed, snatching the paper from Harry's hands and stuffing it in her robe pocket.

During their free period that afternoon, Pepper pulled out the parchment once again when she and Harry were in a private place. "Harry, did you get to read this? These consequences are horrible!" Pepper exclaimed.

"No, I didn't get to read it, you pulled it away too quickly," Harry told her.

"Well read it, then!" Pepper said, shoving the parchment at him.

**Féminin Vivreencore Curse; the Potion and Its' After Effects**

_The Féminin Vivreencore Curse was made illegal years ago by the Ministry of Magic who had concluded it was too dangerous to let witches and wizards to continue performing the Curse. Indeed, it is extremely dangerous and there are many things that can happen in any step of the potion or when performing the Curse itself. _

Harry's eyes skimmed the potion ingredients as that was not an important piece of information to him at the moment. His sight rested on the things that could go wrong with the potion and he resumed reading.

_There are many things that can go wrong during this Curse. Limbs have been lost for brewing certain ingredients wrong. If the potion is drunken one day too late the consequence is certain death. Witches and wizards have gone insane or have gotten amnesia from taking this draught and other nasty things have happened. _

_Clunk the Clumsy attempted brewing this potion but it resulted in a coma-like state. He woke up months later thinking he was a rabbit, so he hopped out the window of a fifty-five story building, thus ending up a squashed man. Similar stories could be told of this potion gone wrong and specialists on this subject are convinced there are other after effects possible. _

Harry looked up at Pepper, who was waiting anxiously for him to finish reading. "Sounds dangerous," Harry said, pointing out the obvious.

"No duh," Pepper sighed. "The question is, do you still want to do it?"

"I'm not sure we should risk it, though I'd love to see Sirius again..."

"I say we go for it. I'm not too fond of dying, but I'm sure if we do everything carefully and follow the directions exactly then we shouldn't have a problem. Though making it illegal is kind of a put off," said Pepper. "But I'd love seeing my dad, just as you want to, so I think we should do it. We should brew the potion at least, and if it looks too foul we won't take it. Please Harry," Pepper pouted.

Harry kissed her, noticing that, indeed, Hermione was right about Pepper being more withdrawn; as if she was guilty. "Hey Pepper," he said after they withdrew from the kiss, "is something wrong?"

"Wrong?" Pepper asked, a guilty look crossing her face. She wondered if Harry had found out about her snogging Malfoy. No, she decided, he didn't know, he would have said something – or yelled. Does he know about my self-mutilation? Pepper asked herself. No, she decided again, he would have said something about that, too. "No, there's nothing wrong."

"Are you sure?" Harry asked, wanting to get to the bottom of this. He knew there was something wrong, as did Hermione and Ron, but none of them knew what. He wanted to know, and figured it was important since Pepper hadn't told any of them, even her best friend.

Pepper knew he could sense something was up with her, so she made something up, hoping he would buy it. "I'm just worried about the Curse, that's all." To punctuate her point she kissed Harry on the cheek, looking at him reassuringly. "That's all," she repeated, trying to guarantee Harry that that really was all.

Harry looked at her skeptically. He was positive something else was wrong, as she couldn't have been worrying about the Curse for as long as Hermione had said she noticed something was tormenting Pepper. Plus, she wouldn't have been acting so guilty if she was just worried. He wasn't sure whether to push the subject, though, as it was apparent that Pepper didn't desire to discuss it. "Pepper," he said, not entirely wanting to bother her but wanting to get it out of her.

"Harry, nothing's wrong, really," she said, getting up and walking away, not wanting to let the conversation continue.

The day of the dance it snowed. The subject of what ailed Pepper had not been brought up by Harry in a few days, for which Pepper was very grateful. Harry and Pepper had begun to make a plan on how to get all of the ingredients for the potion, which would come into play this coming week.

As the dance was on a Saturday, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Pepper went outside to play in the snow because it was the first snowfall of the year. A snowball fight commenced, the girls fighting against the boys, and said fight lasted for a few hours before Pepper and Hermione said they had to go back to their dormitories to get ready for the ball.

At that point, the boys gave up as well, since they had no one to fight against, and decided to chase the girls up to their dormitory, trying to snog them instead of letting them get ready for the ball.

Once they got into their dormitory successfully, though both of them had been caught and snogged once before making it there, Pepper and Hermione changed out of their wet, snowy clothes and took showers before getting out their costumes for the ball.

Pepper pulled on her elegant Victorian dress and Hermione put on her bellbottoms and her tank top. As Pepper was adjusting her dress, with the help of Hermione, Lavender and Parvati entered the room. Pepper knew they were both mad at her after trying to get Harry to dump her and it not working. They passed her bed without a second glance and headed towards their own trunks, pulling out their own costumes.

Lavender and Parvati were going as Tinkerbell and Cinderella, Pepper observed.

When Hermione was done putting her costume, Pepper helped her with the hippie face paint and makeup. Hermione used a Glamour Charm on her hair to make it black and long and one on her eyes to turn them bright green. Her mask stretched across her eyes and part way down the bridge of her nose and there were strings of different colored beads hanging from it that covered much of her cheeks.

Pepper added some powder to Hermione's eyelids and some lip gloss to her lips before stepping back and admiring Hermione's costume. Pepper giggled. "Does it look bad?" Hermione asked.

"Hermione you look like a hippie!" Pepper exclaimed. "It's a pretty good look for you."

"Thanks," Hermione said. "Now you've got to finish your costume."

Pepper added some gold shadow to her eyelids to match the designs on her mask and dress and Hermione (and her great Glamour Charms) turned Pepper's hair sandy blonde and put it into an elegant twist on the top of her head. Lastly was Pepper's mask, the same maroon color as the dress with gold accents.

Hermione looked at Pepper with an odd smile on her face. "Well, I don't know if I would call it Victorian...that dress looks more like it would have been the 1870's... anyhow, it looks gorgeous."

"Thanks," Pepper said. "What color should my eyes be?"

"Oh, I don't know...I like them the color they are," Hermione said. "Gray suits the dress I think."

"Alrighty then, shall we go down?" Pepper asked.

"Sure," said Hermione. "Did you take your Voice Altering Potion?" she asked suddenly, remembering that was part of their masquerade.

"Yes, I think it should be going into effect right about...well, now as you can probably tell," Pepper said, her voice growing slightly higher and more feminine.

Hermione chuckled. "Well I think we can go then because I s'pose I took mine when you took yours and – " Hermione's voice suddenly grew raspier and she broke out into a smile. "Well, you can tell mine's in effect right now. So let's go!"

They bounded down the stairs, (Pepper almost tripping over her dress), and were greeted by an empty common room. "I guess we're late..." Pepper said in her new higher voice. "Oh well, that just means no one will know who we are! Let's go!"

They headed out the portrait hole and down to the Great Hall, where most of the school was already assembled. "What d'you reckon Harry and Ron are dressed as?" Hermione asked, skimming the faces in the crowd.

"Dunno," Pepper answered, itching for the band to start playing so she could get to dancing. "When's the band going to start?"

"I'm not sure; I think Dumbledore will have to make some sort of announcement first..." Hermione said.

"Hermione, you realize you can't talk all proper-like, people will know who you are. You've gotta say 'dude' and 'totally' a lot," Pepper pointed out.

"I will not," Hermione scoffed.

"You have to, or you won't be a believable hippie."

"Oh, look, Dumbledore's coming onstage!" Hermione said, changing the subject.

Dumbledore was stepping onto the stage, as Hermione had said, and he presently cleared his throat so all the mindless chatter in the Great Hall stopped. "Good evening, students," he said. "Welcome to Hogwarts' first annual Masquerade Ball. Just to inform you of a few things before we begin the festivities. First off, you all look wonderful tonight. Secondly, I'm sure you are all wondering about dinner. As you see, there are tables lining the walls, you are welcome to sit down at any time you wish and order your dinner. Now, may I introduce to you Oddities Unknown!"

There was thunderous applause as five witches and wizards appeared onto the stage. Almost immediately, they began playing a song. "Come on!" Pepper yelled to Hermione over the din. She dragged the other girl into the middle of the floor and began swaying her hips to the music, the flowing dress mimicking her movements. She coaxed Hermione to dance before realizing that they were the only two dancing, the rest of the crowd was standing around or heading for the tables. "Hermione, we're the only ones dancing," she said, pointing out the obvious.

Hermione nodded and replied with a simple, I know, but I'm sure they'll all dance once they see us doing it.

Hermione wasn't exactly right, for only two other people began to dance a few minutes later, when two boys asked them to dance. Pepper accepted, as did Hermione and the two boys began moving to the music with them.

Before the song drew to a close, there were many more people out on the dance floor, and Harry had picked out the girl he thought was Pepper, as she had been the best dancer. When the song did end, he approached the girl, whom was clad in a Victorian style dress, and asked her to dance.

She obliged, and they began to dance, Harry recognizing her movements immediately. "You sure do attract a lot of attention, Pepper," he said.

"Excuse me?" Pepper said in her new feminine voice. She wasn't sure who it was, but this someone knew who she was, and it was a little unnerving. This boy had dark, slicked back hair and black eyes. His costume was that of a vampire, and his mask didn't cover very much of his face.

"C'mon Pepper," said Harry, hoping very much that this was, in fact, Pepper and he wasn't making a complete fool of himself. He flashed a nervous smile at her.

"I'm not sure I like this," Pepper said, dislodging herself from the boy's grip and making her way over to one of the tables to get something to eat, leaving Harry feeling very stupid.

Hermione, seeing Pepper storming off, followed her friend to one of the tables. Pepper was looking at the menu. Hermione sat in the chair across from Pepper, smiling, bemused, at the look she wore on her face. "What happened?" Hermione asked.

"Some creepy guy came up to me and started talking like he knew me," Pepper answered. "How do you order from this menu?"

"Just say what you want and it appears," Hermione instructed. Pepper followed Hermione's instructions and food appeared on her plate seconds later.

Hermione ordered something, as well, and the two ate in silence for a while. "The guy I danced with was really nice," Hermione said, finally breaking the silence.

"Oh?" said Pepper, looking at Hermione with a quizzical eyebrow raised. "How so?"

"Well, he kept giving me compliments on my dancing, and saying how pretty I looked..." Hermione trailed off.

"Remember, hippie girl, you do have a boyfriend...well, you sort of do," Pepper told Hermione.

"Yes, but I can say a bloke is nice, can't I?" Hermione asked.

"Sure..."

They finished their meals with a few words of conversation and then Pepper suggested they dance again. They danced together for one song before someone came up to Hermione and asked her to dance. After asking Pepper if it was alright, the boy led Hermione away to dance and Pepper was left to dance alone.

For the next few songs Pepper and Hermione both had a couple different dancing partners and then the two of them decided to ditch their current partners and get drinks. "I'm getting rather bored," Pepper announced, sipping at her punch. "It's still an hour till the unmasking."

"I know, I'm getting bored, too. Do you want to go out to the garden?" Hermione asked. Pepper shrugged so they headed out of the Great Hall and towards the grounds. They both shivered as the cool November air hit their bare skin. A light snow was falling.

Sitting down on a bench that was enchanted to be warm, Pepper wondered aloud when their glamour and voice would be changed back to normal. "Knowing Dumbledore, he's worked out a way so that when we're unmasked, the charms wear off," Hermione said smartly.

"I see...so have you found anyone you think is Ron yet?" Pepper asked.

"Not really...though there was someone who was as sweet as he can be," Hermione responded, her voice beginning to sound spacey.

"Hermione...back to earth please," Pepper said, waving a hand in front of Hermione's face. "I could use a dance with a sickly-sweet guy; care to point him out to me?"

Pepper led Hermione back into the hall, where a slow song was playing, and Hermione began scanning the crowd for the boy she had been dancing with earlier. "Wonder if it is Ron?" she wondered, craning her neck to see over the dancing mass of people. "There!" Hermione gasped suddenly, pulling Pepper over towards the beverage table. The two girls pretended to be interested in getting a drink, but they both stole glances at the boy.

He was leaning against the wall, with more than a few girls surrounding him. Pepper almost spat out her drink. "Are you sure he was _sweet_, Hermione?" she hissed at her friend.

"Yes, why?" Hermione asked.

"That's..." Pepper tilted her head to try and get a better look at the boy, though she didn't want him to see her looking. "That's Malfoy," she finished finally. "Can't you tell? He's standing so cockily..."

"That can't be Malfoy," Hermione said. "He was such a gentleman..."

A smirk now adorned Pepper's face. "I'm going to go ask him to dance," she decided.

"Pepper, you don't _fancy_ him, do you?" Hermione wondered worriedly. "Harry _is_ your soul mate...and Malfoy's our enemy..."

"I know Hermione," said Pepper impatiently. "I just want to be with him during the unmasking, let him see who he's dancing with..."

"Alright fine, go see if he'll dance with you. Though, I doubt it, what with all those girls hanging on him. They're probably in a line to get him to dance with him," Hermione said.

"Well, I shall try nonetheless!" Pepper cried valiantly, walking over to Malfoy. "Hello," she said suavely, making her way through the clinging girls. Malfoy looked at her, acknowledging her presence by nodding his head. "Care to dance?" she asked him.

He shrugged lightly before grabbing her hand in his own and leading her onto the dance floor, leaving protesting girls in his wake.

Pepper wasn't fully ready for this to be his reaction to her request, but she followed him onto the floor and began to dance with him. A slow song was playing so he drew her close. She was painfully aware of Malfoy's hands on her waist, leading her, and that his head was very close to her own. Daringly, she rested her head on his shoulder. She could hear his heart beating steadily and imagined that her heart was beating increasingly faster with every move they made.

Malfoy led her around the dance floor for three consecutive songs, each minute drawing them closer to the unmasking. "You look very nice tonight," he complimented.

"Thanks..." said Pepper, happy that he'd finally said something. She was wondering when he would start acting sweet – like Hermione said he'd acted when she danced with him. Wanting to keep the conversation going she said, "You don't look bad yourself."

"Of course I don't," Malfoy retorted, not at all gentlemanly.

Pepper scowled. What was his problem? Hermione said he'd been sweet! Though this was the real way Malfoy acted. To get him back, Pepper accidentally on purpose trod on his foot. It didn't seem to faze him, however, and they continued dancing. Pepper noticed he wasn't a bad dancer...and that his hands were drawing her in closer to him.

"Students!" said a booming voice once the song had ended. The couples, including Pepper and Malfoy, pulled apart and turned their attention to Dumbledore, who was standing on the stage.

"Time for the unmasking," Malfoy murmured. He turned to Pepper. "But we won't need to show our faces, since you already know who I am, right Halliwell?"

Pepper gasped inwardly and took a step back from Malfoy, glaring at him.

"Eager to get close to me, are you?" he smirked.

Pepper stuck her nose in the air and walked away. "Insufferable bastard," she muttered, searching in the crowd for Hermione. She was vaguely aware of Dumbledore telling everyone to take off their masks so she tore hers off. This and the fact that everyone's glamours were fading made it easier to look for her best friend and she found Hermione where she had abandoned the girl. Hermione was standing with the vampire had danced with...it was Harry. Pepper swore.

"Hey," she greeted, joining her two friends.

"Hi," Hermione said cheerfully. "How'd it go? Was he surprised?" she hissed in Pepper's ear, so Harry couldn't hear.

"Ha-ha, yeah right," Pepper answered. "He knew it was me, though I don't know how. Unless my charms had already faded..."

"Who?" Harry asked.

"Malfoy," Hermione replied. "Pepper wanted to surprise him but it turns out he knew who she was."

"Oh," Harry said, utterly confused. "Pepper, can you come with me? I need to talk to you," he said suddenly, grabbing Pepper's wrist and dragging her from the hall.

He dragged her all the way to the seventh floor and into the deserted common room. "There's something wrong with you Pepper," he stated calmly. "I don't know what it has to do with but I know there's something wrong."

"Nothing is wrong Harry, for the last time," Pepper said impatiently. "Why do you have the idea that something's the matter?"

"Kiss me," he said, pulling her mouth to his. "That's why," he told her when they'd pulled apart.

"Harry what are you talking about?" Pepper asked, getting worried. Did he know about the kiss? Did he suspect she was having a secret affair with Malfoy?

"Pepper, I know there is something wrong with you! When we kiss you seem more... withdrawn. And you act guilty all of the time. You jump at the smallest things...and you won't even tell Hermione what's the matter! I'm worried about you, Pepper, why won't you tell me?"

"You know what's wrong with me, Harry!" Pepper yelled, deciding the hell with it. She was getting tired of being asked what was wrong with her. He wanted to know, so she'd tell – well, more like yell an explanation at him.

Harry nodded, crossing his arms expectantly.

"What's wrong with me is that I cut myself! You and your damn friends deserted me and I CUT myself! I got depressed cos I had no friends and tons of work! I sliced my arms with Hermione's effing COMPASS!"

Harry's jaw dropped and he reached for Pepper, but she took a step back, not done with her ranting.

"And you know what else is the matter? Malfoy wants to SCREW me! That's what else is wrong! He snogged me and I felt guilty! So I didn't tell you! He kissed me after my detention! And I ENJOYED IT! I enjoyed it..." At this Pepper broke down into tears, worried about what Harry would think and do. **(A/N: Like I said, Pepper's dramaticness is really annoying!)**


	18. Chapter 17: The Secrets of Gryffindor

**A/N: Yay, I have returned from my vacation! The fresh mountain air really did me good, but I'm sorry I had to go so long without posting. As usual, I thank my wonderful reviewers and I have a few notes to you people...**

**First, I must thank charmedsisters for the continuing reviews; they're dandy and keep my spirits high! **

**Nox: **I'm wondering what you're talking about. I don't recall someone being grossed out by kissing someone else...would you please inform me of what you're referring to?

**Allison: **Have your friends REVIEW ME! (I hope I can see you soon, too, are you coming here in November?)

**Allison's Friend Hannah:** Even though you didn't review me, I'm talking to you and telling you to REVIEW, please.

**Without further ado I present to you, my loving audience, chapter seventeen! (audience: wild applause)**

**Chapter Seventeen**

Harry stood there, torn between anger and tears, not sure what to do. He _had_ asked what was wrong with Pepper, and she'd finally told him, though he knew he didn't like what she had said. Seeing a sobbing Pepper collapsed on the floor, he used his friend-ly instinct and wrapped his arms around her while his brain took in the exact words Pepper had just told him.

Realization hit him, and he took in the full meaning of her words. The next thing he knew, his tears were hitting Pepper's head.

Pepper's sobs subsided as she realized that Harry was crying. She had no real reason to cry about it anymore, except for the fact that Harry would probably dump her and then hex her into oblivion, but she'd already cried about everything enough. "Harry..." Pepper said hoarsely, not really wanting him to answer her.

Sniffling, Harry stood and left the common room in a rush. Pepper sighed heavily. She stood up and straightened her dress's skirt before retreating to her dormitory.

"PEPPER HALLIWELL!" Hermione shouted, storming into the girls' dorm room.

Pepper shot up in her bed. Bleary eyed, she wrenched back her bed hangings to reveal Hermione, who was very red in the face.

"What?" she murmured. "I was sleeping."

"YOU SNOGGED MALFOY!" Hermione shrieked.

"Who told you that?" Pepper asked stupidly, knowing full well it was Harry who informed Hermione of this. She wondered if he told her about Pepper's cutting problem.

"Harry," Hermione said, putting her hand on her hip. "So it's true then, you snogged Malfoy!"

"He snogged me," Pepper replied haughtily.

"Oh..._well_, how was it?" Hermione suddenly asked, sitting on Pepper's bed.

Pepper laughed out loud from shock. "Are you serious, Hermione? You're not going to yell at me or anything? You aren't mad?"

"I will be later, but I want to know Pepper! I've always wondered!"

"It was really nice actually," Pepper supplied.

"So you can understand why he's the Slytherin Sex God, then?" Hermione asked hurriedly, blushing.

"Definitely," Pepper said. "If he's that good at kissing then I can only imagine what he's like in bed..."

"Pepper! You've got a boyfriend!" Hermione exclaimed, though she was smiling.

"I may not have my sort-of boyfriend for long, though," Pepper moaned.

"Why not? Because Malfoy snogged you? Oh, I'm sure Harry will forgive you for that Pepper, if you still like him," Hermione assured Pepper.

So Harry hadn't told her about Pepper's problem. "Do you think so?" Pepper asked, playing along and pretending there wasn't another reason Harry might dump her. Not to mention the hexing her into oblivion part.

"Yes I do. I think I'll be miffed at you in the morning Pepper, right now I'm going to bed. Goodnight," Hermione said.

"Night," said Pepper, lying down once more.

"She snogged Malfoy?" Ron asked Harry as they got dressed and ready to go down to breakfast. Harry hadn't told Ron the news last night because Ron was too busy telling Harry about the wonderful girls he danced with at the ball.

"Yes," was Harry's plain reply. He was still stunned about Pepper's news and he wasn't too thrilled at facing her this morning.

"Are you going to dump her?" Ron wondered.

Harry had been considering this all night. Hadn't Pepper said the reason she cut herself was because Harry, Ron and Hermione had been ignoring her? Harry was afraid that if he did dump Pepper and Ron, Hermione and himself were mad at Pepper again then she would cut herself again. He certainly didn't want that to happen. He thought that he could find it in his heart to forgive her for kissing Malfoy; after all, she said that it was Malfoy who snogged her.

"I don't think so," Harry answered.

"Are you sure about that, mate?" Ron said, furrowing his brow in slight confusion. "How do you know she hasn't kissed any other guys?"

"I'm sure, Ron," Harry said. "Besides, I can't really be that mad at her, we're not officially boyfriend and girlfriend."

"So are you going to ask her out, then?" Ron asked, Harry's last statement having confused him even more.

"I think so," said Harry confidently.

Ron's mouth formed a silent "O" and he said nothing more all the way down to the Great Hall.

Pepper wasn't at breakfast, as Harry soon found out, and being as it was Saturday he wasn't certain he'd get to see her at all that day if she was avoiding him. Deciding that he wouldn't, in fact, see her all day, he decided to send her a letter.

He went up to the Owlery and grabbed Pepper and Hermione's new owl, Cashlinn since Hedwig was out sending another letter. Grabbing a spare piece of parchment he scribbled a note to her.

_Pepper,_

_It's Harry. I just want to say I'm not mad at you for kissing Malfoy, though I am really mad at you for cutting yourself. How the hell could you do something like that? If it was because of me, Ron and Hermione I'm sorry, I didn't know you'd go to extremes like that. I want to talk to you in person, so please come out of your dorm; you can't stay in there forever. I didn't tell Hermione OR Ron about what you did, however, I did say something about Malfoy, as Hermione probably told you. I won't say anything to them about it, but I think you should. You should especially tell Hermione, since she is your best friend. Like I said, I won't interfere, though you should definitely tell then, they deserve to know. I need to talk to you, could you meet me in the common room? If you'd like we could take somewhere more private, but we should meet there. Soon._

_ Harry_

Alright, he thought, so it wasn't scribbling a little note...Satisfied, he sealed it and tied it to Cashlinn's leg and sent her out the window. Then he went down to the common room to see if Pepper would arrive.

Pepper heard a tapping on her window and looked over to find it was Cashlinn with a letter. Puzzled, Pepper went over to the window and let the owl inside. Cashlinn landed on Pepper's arm with a hoot, and the girl saw that the letter Cashlinn was carrying was addressed to her. She untied it and opened it up. After reading it she contemplated whether or not to go down to the common room. Deciding that she did, she left the dorm and headed downstairs to meet Harry.

He looked somewhat surprised that she'd showed up and walked over to meet her as she descended the stairs. "Hey," he said, smiling forcedly.

"Hi...I thought you'd be really mad at me," said Pepper.

"Well I am, and I'm not," Harry said.

"Oh..."

"Well you have reason to be mad at me, and I don't think you're irked," he said. "We shouldn't have pushed you to that...though I wish you would have told me how upset you were."

"Maybe we shouldn't talk about this here," Pepper said, eyeing all the people in the common room. "Could we take a walk around the castle?"

"Sure," Harry shrugged, walking towards the portrait hole.

Once they were outside of Gryffindor Tower, they resumed their talk. "So it was our fault then?"

"Yes," Pepper said dully. "I s'pose that's what drove me to it."

"Can I see your arms?" Harry asked. The pair stopped walking and Pepper held out her robe-covered arms. Harry pushed back the heavy fabric to reveal her bare arms that were scattered with fading scars. "Pepper..." he moaned helplessly. "You have a problem. Your arms are covered. I don't know how the hell you could do that..." He shuddered. "You need help."

"No I don't Harry," Pepper told him, pulling her arms towards her and putting her sleeves down. She resumed walking. "I only did it because I was depressed. I didn't have anyone, and that depressed me! So I did it. I haven't for months. I won't do it again."

"Promise?" Harry said, walking quickly to keep up with her.

"Yea," said Pepper. "So anyway, you aren't mad at me for kissing Malfoy?"

"Nope, I don't think I really have a reason to. I mean, we aren't officially together so why shouldn't you kiss him?"

Pepper raised a skeptical eyebrow at Harry. _Has he lost his mind?_ she wondered. "Err..." was all she managed to say.

"Actually, Pepper, I was wondering if you wanted to be my girlfriend," Harry asked.

"So you're not going to ditch me?" Pepper said. Harry shook his head. "Okay, well I say yes then. I promise I won't kiss anyone but you."

"Good," said Harry, slipping his arm around Pepper's waist. As they rounded a corner they saw two figures kissing heatedly against a wall. Pepper and Harry looked in disgust as they walked by stealthily. Pepper recognized the male as Malfoy and the female as another Slytherin by the name of Geri Hanley. **(A/N: This is really my friend, but she wanted to snog Malfoy so I put her in the story with a different name.)**

"Ick," Pepper said when they were in the next corridor, sticking her tongue out. "That's gross. Now I can tell you I didn't do THAT with Malfoy."

"That's good," Harry said. "So Pepper _will_ you tell Hermione and Ron about what you did?"

"I dunno, I think they'll get really bothered...they'll yell at me, Hermione will give me a lecture...I'm not sure if I want to go through that."

"Pepper, they deserve to know! I think you should tell them! They'd _want_ to know."

"Fine," Pepper said. "I'll tell them. Hermione first, though. I'll do it later today, I guess." Harry squeezed her waist with the arm he had around it.

"I'll be with you when you tell them if you'd like. Unless you want to tell her in the dormitory, then I can't be there. But if you do it down in the common room or something then I can be there. That's only if you need moral support. If you don't then I can spend my time doing something else," Harry ranted.

"That's alright Harry, I think I can do it alone. It is my problem, after all."

"You know Pepper, you and Malfoy are related," Harry mused.

"WHAT?!" Pepper screamed, jumping away from Harry. "Did you just say me and Malfoy are RELATED! How can that be?"

"Yeah, you're related. His mom is Sirus' cousin. Though Sirius was removed from his family tree, so I guess you were too. So by blood you're Malfoy's, what, second cousin? But if you're going by what the family thinks you two aren't related at all," Harry explained.

"That's even grosser than Malfoy's tongue down Hanley's throat!" Pepper cried. "I KISSED MY SECOND COUSIN! Ewwww!"

Harry suppressed a laugh. He didn't know why he hadn't realized the two were related before. "Yeah," he settled on saying to Pepper, not really wanting to comfort her or calm her down – it was too funny. And besides, she had sort of cheated on him, so why not let her pay for it? "Yeah, I s'pose you kissed your second cousin."

Pepper, sticking her tongue out once again, excused herself and ran back to Gryffindor Tower, saying she needed to go wash her mouth out with soap.

Hermione was in the dormitory when Pepper ran in through the door. "Hey, Pepper, how was your talk with Harry?" she asked.

"How'd you know?" Pepper questioned. Hermione held up the note Harry had sent her by way of owl. Pepper nodded in understanding and then remembered why she was up here. "I'll be back in a minute, I've got to wash my mouth out with soap," Pepper told Hermione, running into the bathroom to do so.

"Alright," Hermione said to Pepper's retreating back. Why would she need to do that? Hermione wondered. Surely kissing Harry couldn't be that disgusting.

"That's better," said Pepper, coming out of the bathroom.

"I'd like to know why in the name of Merlin you did that, Pepper," Hermione said to her. "That's one of the strangest things I've ever seen anyone do."

"Did you know I was related to Malfoy?" Pepper asked Hermione hurriedly, sitting on Hermione's bed, next to her pile of books. "Cos that's what Harry just informed me. And that means I kissed my second cousin." Pepper grimaced. "Hence why I needed to wash my mouth out with soap. That's sickening! I wish someone had told me before he went and kissed me."

"That is sickening." Hermione grimaced as Pepper had. "I didn't know that he was related to you...I wonder why Harry didn't tell me."

"He probably didn't think it was important to tell you, I mean, he just remembered it now, and he told me. He said that my dad was Malfoy's mother's cousin, so that makes me Malfoy's second cousin. Eww. Hey, I wonder if Malfoy knows this piece of info. If he doesn't then I could definitely use this to my advantage." Pepper cackled evilly for effect. "Now, in all seriousness, Hermione, I have to talk to you," Pepper said, calming down.

"What is it Pepper? Is something wrong?" Hermione asked with concern, seeing the look on Pepper's face was less than cheerful.

"I s'pose you could say that...I've got to tell you something. Obviously Harry told you about the issue of snogging Malfoy, but he didn't tell you something even more important, he said it was my business but I should tell you...so I'm telling you. You see...when you, Harry and Ron stopped paying any attention to me, I didn't have anyone so I...er...hell, why is this so hard, I blurted it all out to Harry last night...well, I cut myself."

Hermione's eyes opened wide in shock. "What?" she hissed sharply.

"I cut myself, Hermione," Pepper repeated.

"Pepper!" Hermione shouted. "How could you! You could have DIED!" Hermione glared daggers at Pepper before getting up and running out of the dormitory, tears threatening to spill from her eyes.

Pepper sighed, cursing herself for being so tactless. "Well, I guess I should go try to apologize and explain..." she muttered under her breath, leaving the dorm and going down to the common room. There she found Hermione being comforted by Ron and Harry, the redhead glaring at her.

Pepper walked over to them, a desperate expression on her face. "I'm sorry, Hermione," she said, and she meant it. She didn't want Hermione to be mad at her. Crouching in front of Hermione, she tired to make eye contact with her. "Hermione," Pepper pleaded. Ron glared at her but he removed his arm from Hermione, letting Pepper get her attention. "You have reason to be mad, I know." She put her hands on Hermione's knees. "Hermione will you look at me!"

"I am mad at you Pepper. I'm also really sad," Hermione said, still not looking at her friend. "But then, Harry and Ron should be mad at you, too. And you should be mad at Harry."

"I know they should be – wait, why should I be mad at Harry?" Pepper asked.

"Hermione..." Harry said warningly.

"Ron should be mad at Harry too," Hermione said.

"Why?" Ron asked.

"Hermione shut it!" said Harry menacingly.

"He snogged Ginny," Hermione said plainly.

Two things happened at once, Ron stood up and roared, "He did WHAT?" as Pepper jumped up and glared at Harry, yelling, "What did you say Hermione?"

"He snogged Ginny," Hermione repeated for them coolly. Harry was wide-eyed and blushing madly. Ron's face was red too, but it was out of anger instead of embarrassment. He looked like he was going to kill Harry right then and there.

"For your sake, I hope you didn't, Harry," Ron muttered through clenched teeth.

"I can explain, Ron," Harry said desperately, standing up and walking behind the couch to put an object between him and Ron. "See, I didn't know it was Ginny. We were at the Masquerade Ball, so she had a mask on!"

"I thought you liked ME Harry!" Pepper said loudly. The scene was starting to draw the attention of people around the common room, and they were very amused, as was Hermione.

"I do Pepper! I didn't know it was Ginny!" argued Harry.

"But you knew it was someone besides me! How could you Harry?" Pepper asked angrily.

Ginny had heard her name being shouted as she walked out of her dorm and upon entering the common room found Harry behind the couch yelling at an angry Pepper and Ron. Hermione was sitting in the middle of it, dried tears on her cheeks, looking amused.

"What's this about me?" Ginny asked, coming over and standing next to Pepper.

Pepper looked at her to see who it was, and when she recognized Ginny her eyes narrowed. "You snogged my boyfriend!" Pepper accused.

Ginny's face blanched. "I didn't mean to, Pepper, I swear," she said. "I didn't know it was Harry until the unmasking."

"Besides Pepper, you kissed someone other than me! And you KNEW who they were!" Harry exclaimed at Pepper.

"But that's different!" Pepper shouted back at him, not really knowing how Harry kissing Ginny was different from her kissing Malfoy. In fact, it was worse for her to kiss Malfoy because she knew who he was and she knew he's Harry's arch enemy. Whereas Harry didn't even know the girl he was kissing.

"It is not different!" Harry retorted.

"Yea, how is it different?" Ginny wondered, supporting Harry.

"How could YOU snog Harry?" Ron said, rounding on his little sister. "My sister can't snog my best friend! Wait till Mum hears about this! Wait till Bill and Charlie hear about this!"

"For the last time, Ron, I didn't know it was Harry! And no one has to hear about this!" Ginny told him.

Pepper noticed Harry's face at grown paler at the mention of Ron's mother and brothers being notified of this information. She took this opportunity to pick on Harry while Ron was busy yelling at Ginny.

"Why did you snog her? You said you liked me! You asked me out! But obviously you want to be with Ginny. Were you planning on having a secret affair with her or something?" Pepper rambled at Harry.

"You're no better, Pepper, you're the one that snogged Malfoy," Harry said.

"I know, we've been over this a million times, I'm just wondering why you snogged Ginny," said Pepper.

"I couldn't see her face, I thought she was you," Harry explained, lowering the volume of his voice. He was sort of embarrassed that he'd mistaken his best friend's sister for his girlfriend.

"How could you think Ginny was me?" Pepper asked hotly.

Hermione rose from her seat and grabbed Pepper by the wrist, pulling her up the spiral staircase and into their dormitory before Pepper realized what was happening.

When Hermione slammed the door and faced Pepper, she was very huffy. "Why are you so damn sure of yourself?" she fumed angrily at Pepper. "You're so cocky and inconsiderate! You're as bad as Malfoy! Maybe you deserve him! You say you're not better than anyone else but you act that way all the time? How can you just brush off the fact that you cheated on your boyfriend and you slashed your wrists and then turn around and blame Harry for doing something that wasn't even as bad as what you did? You brush EVERYTHING off like that! Like, oh, I'm here now so everything's okay! Well it's not fucking okay! I'm your best friend and I care about you Pepper! That's why I'm telling you this and that's why I'm yelling at you for hurting yourself! As much as you say it was the fault of me, Harry and Ron it really wasn't, you're the one that cut yourself! We didn't, and we couldn't do that for you! Now I know we made you upset, and I'm sorry for that, but you could've come to me, or Ginny or one of the teachers if you were depressed. You didn't have to go to those lengths."

At this point in her speech, Hermione was in tears, but she went on letting her feelings out to Pepper.

"We could have gotten you help or something so you didn't have to resort to doing that. Pepper, you can't just cut yourself every time someone gets mad at you! That's going to happen for the rest of your life! You'll _die_ before then if you keep this up! So next time you even THINK of doing it talk to Ginny or me or even Harry, all right? We'll _help_ you. We won't hate you for being depressed. But you have to promise never to do it again, okay?"

Pepper walked over to Hermione and gave her a hug, very astonished that Hermione felt the way she did, and that she'd tell Pepper that freely. "I'm sorry Hermione, I'm so sorry," she whispered, and she meant it. "I promise I'll never do it again, and I promise to try and be less cocky. I didn't realize I was doing it. I didn't know you thought that lowly of me, Hermione."

Hermione didn't take this moment to yell at Pepper for trying to guilt trip her, instead she said, "Pepper, you're a great person and a good friend, but sometimes you just get carried away. And will you stop arguing with Harry, he tried to cut you a break and then you shoved it in his face. Just forget the fact that you snogged his enemy and he snogged your friend, okay?"

"Alright, I'll stop doing everything you disapprove of, Hermione," Pepper said somewhat sarcastically, though Hermione failed to catch the sarcasm.

"Good," she said, "Now let's go back into the common room so we can make our appropriate apologies."


	19. Chapter 18: The Plot Thickens

**A/N: Thank you to all of Allison's friends...and Allison of course...and thank you to all of my regular reviewers...I encourage you all to read and review my lovely story. **

**But! Before I post this chapter (sorry Allison and Hannah, I know you're eager to read...but I'm evil (hehehe) so there!) I have a question!**

** Why do really really dumb stories get a lot of reviews, even if they have a lot of grammatical errors? **

**Chapter Eighteen**

Christmas vacation was to start tomorrow, so Pepper and Hermione were packing their things to go home. Harry and Ron were staying at Hogwarts, as Harry hadn't a place to go and Ron wanted to stay with Harry, since he was missing Sirius because last Christmas break had been spent at Sirius' house.

Pepper and Hermione were leaving Hogwarts for said vacation because Pepper's aunts wanted her home and Hermione was going on a cruise. Pepper wasn't fond of leaving Harry at a time like this, when he was missing his godfather so terribly, but she had to or her aunts would be very mad. Plus, she missed them too, so she wanted to go home.

The next morning Hermione and Pepper made sure they had everything packed and went down to the common room to say their good byes to Harry and Ron before they boarded the Hogwarts Express.

Once they and Ginny were on the train they easily found a compartment and entered it, shutting the door behind them. The journey was spent talking, about boys, school and Christmas, and before they knew it the train had arrived at Kings Cross station.

Ginny found her parents quickly and led Hermione and Pepper over to say hello. "Hi, Mrs. Weasley, nice to see you again," Pepper said politely.

"Hello dear, have you had a nice term at Hogwarts?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

Pepper said she had and then the Weasley's said they had to leave, so they did, bidding Pepper and Hermione farewell.

Hermione found her parents and waved them over, introducing them to Pepper. Then the Granger's set off from the train station, leaving Pepper alone to look for her aunts. She had no idea who was picking her up or how they were doing it, and she began to grow worried.

Suddenly there were blue crystals in front of her and her Uncle Leo appeared there. He smiled and immediately hugged her when he saw her. "Hey kiddo," he greeted, letting her go. "I've missed you so much, so do your aunts, so we'd better get you home, come on."

"We're orbing?" Pepper said.

"Yep, now come on, we've got to get going."

Pepper hugged her uncle once more and they disappeared in blue and white lights.

When they arrived back at the Manor, Pepper was greeted with a crushing embrace from her three aunts and kisses being planted all over her face. "Gaa!" Pepper said. "Let me BREATHE!"

Her aunts let go of her and stood back, beaming. "Oh Pepper, it's so good to see you we've missed you so much," her Aunt Piper said. "Why don't we go into the kitchen, I'll make us something to eat."

The five of them went into the kitchen, Paige, Phoebe and Leo taking a seat at the table, Pepper sitting on the counter and Piper pulling out ingredients to make them dinner. "So, what's up?" Pepper asked, kicking the drawers beneath the counter with her heels.

"Since you've been gone? Well, we've told you stuff in our letters...we tracked and vanquished a demon yesterday. You know Pep, you're still wearing your Hogwarts robes..." Paige said.

"Oh. Oh well, I don't care, it's comfy. Anyway, how's Cole, is he really vanquished this time?" Pepper asked Phoebe.

"No," Phoebe answered dejectedly. "I didn't tell you, did I? I was filing for my divorce and he showed up, once again ruining my life. My column's going well, though."

"Yeah, Cole's trying to prove he's good," Piper said, biting the inside of her lip. "But he's got all these powers from Hell, so they're not helping in winning Phoebe back. Add the fact that he made her the Queen of the Underworld and his efforts aren't going well."

"Well then, sounds like your life's going well, how's yours Aunt Piper?" Pepper asked.

Her three aunts and Leo all had smiles on their faces and they were looking at each other as though Pepper couldn't see them. "What?!" Pepper wanted to know.

Piper faced her and blurted out, "I'm pregnant!"

Pepper stared at her aunt wide-eyed for a second before she screamed joyfully. "You're pregnant!" she exclaimed, jumping down from the counter and racing over to hug her aunt. "Congratulations!" Releasing her aunt she ran over to her uncle and jumped on his lap, hugging him. "Congratulations, Uncle Leo!" she cried. "When did you guys find out? Why didn't you tell me?"

"It was a few weeks ago," Piper explained. "We wanted to tell you in person, we figured you couldn't suffocate us with hugs in a letter." She smiled.

"This is AWESOME! I'm going to have a COUSIN!" Pepper yelled, running over and giving her Aunt Piper another hug. "Ahh, it's so good to be home. So, what do you guys have planned for our short vacation together?" Pepper wondered, snapping out of excitement mode.

"Sorry, Pep, we haven't got anything planned. You know we can't plan things in this house," Paige said.

"So nothing HAS changed then..." Pepper sighed. "Ah well, I'll just have to think of things for us to do. OH! I've got to see my baby!" She rushed outside and found her VW convertible parked by the sidewalk in front of the house. She ran up to it and hugged its front end. "I missed you, car," she cooed. "But why are you sitting here instead of in the garage or something...? Ah ha!"

She ran back into the house and to the kitchen. Pointing at her aunts accusingly she said, "You've been using my car!"

"Yes, we have," Piper said. "We don't have a car for each of us, so we've been using yours since you weren't here."

"Aw, poo, you were supposed to deny it," Pepper said. "You've got no sense of excitement. Hey, where'd Uncle Leo go?" she asked, realizing that Leo was no longer in the kitchen.

"The Elders wanted him. Oh, Pepper, I was wondering if anyone got to enjoy my gifts to you," Paige asked suggestively.

"Yes, actually," Pepper answered. Her aunt looked very surprised. "I went to yell at Harry in my see-through PJs and he and his dorm mates at a great laugh at me. Bloody brilliant that was."

"How are things with you and Harry?" Phoebe inquired. "You haven't said anything in your letters recently."

"I think we're alright, though I snogged his arch enemy," Pepper told them.

"Who did what to who?" Piper wondered.

"I made out with Malfoy," Pepper said. "When Harry found out he was pretty pissed, but then I found out he made out with Ginny, so it's all good now. Harry, however, didn't get to enjoy me in my kinky gifts, apart from the night I had a go at him."

"Teenage drama, I don't miss it," Paige said, shaking her head.

"You know, since I went to Hogwarts everything's gotten confusing," said Pepper. "Life was much simpler when I just lived here. I've had so many fights with my new friends...Harry got mad at me once, Hermione twice, Ron two or three times...well, he got mad mainly when Hermione was mad...but it's all really complicated. Plus I'm being swamped with work and extra classes, and my life's pretty much a mess. Are you sure I can't just move back here?"

"Are you serious, Pepper?" Piper asked, draining the pasta and shooting her niece a puzzling look. "From your letters it sounded as if you liked Hogwarts."

"I like learning all the magic and everything, but like I said, my life is harder now. I've never had much human contact, and at school there are people everywhere. I have a best friend now, and other friends, and I have interest in boys, which I've never had before. The only problem is I have interest in TWO boys, both of which happen to be arch enemies, one of whom is my god brother and one who is my second cousin."

"What!" Piper, Paige and Phoebe exclaimed in unison.

"I'll explain in a minute. Anyway, I've learned that I'm not much of a people person...and that I'm too cocky."

"Who told you you're too cocky?"

"Hermione," Pepper answered. "But then, I don't think she's cocky enough. When someone insults her she just stands there and she never flirts..."

"Flirting isn't always a good thing, Pepper," Phoebe told her.

"So I've heard," Pepper mumbled. "You do it all the time, though, Aunt Phoebe."

"And I've learned it isn't always a good thing," Phoebe said, "Do as I say, not as I do. Really though, as I'm sure you've found out, it's not always the way to go."

"Hermione told you you're too cocky?" Paige asked, setting plates out on the table and helping Piper serve the spaghetti.

"Yes she did, and I didn't appreciate it much. Maybe she's just jealous..." Pepper said.

"I think I agree with Hermione," said Piper. "You are too cocky sometimes, Pep. You may not realize it, but you are. And I think if Hermione told you that then you should tone it down a bit."

"I know," Pepper grumbled. "I told her I'd try and stop."

They all sat down at the table and began their meal. "Now tell us about your relation to your other object of affection," Paige said.

So Pepper explained about Harry told her she was related to Malfoy. "Yeah, apparently every pureblood family is related by blood or marriage. I'm Ron's, like, fourth cousin twice removed or something. It's weird."

"You're attracted to your second cousin?" Phoebe asked dully. "Pepper, that's not good. It's illegal in some states, you know."

"But to continue a pureblood family purebloods marry purebloods, therefore you have to marry someone who's related to you," Pepper explained.

"Probably not someone as closely related to you as a second cousin," Piper said, looking skeptical.

"I never said we were going to get married, though," Pepper said, wanting to change the subject. "Ooh, Aunt Paige, can you orb me to Diagon Alley tomorrow?" Pepper asked her aunt through a mouthful of noodles.

"I don't know if I can, that's pretty far away, Pep," Paige replied. "Why do you need to go there?"

"Christmas shopping," Pepper responded. "That place is so cool, I'm sure I'll be able to find something for everyone I know."

"Why don't we all go?" Phoebe suggested. "I've got work off for two weeks, so I'm free."

"It's a date, then," Pepper said, smiling.

Pepper, Paige, Phoebe, and Piper all arrived in Diagon Alley at noon the next day. There were a few shoppers wandering around but the place wasn't nearly as busy as when Pepper had been here last.

"These shops are so _weird_," Paige said, trying to look at everything at once.

"Come on, I've got to stop at the bank, Gringotts, before we can look at anything else," Pepper urged, beckoning her aunts to follow her as she headed down the street.

As the snowy white building came into view, Pepper's aunts gasped. "Come _on_," Pepper said as her aunts were slowing down to look at the building. "Don't be alarmed by the workers, they're just goblins."

They walked up to a free goblin sitting at the long counter and Pepper showed him her key. The four of them were led to a cart and they climbed in with the goblin. The cart set off, rattling down the track at an alarming speed – Piper held on tightly to Paige's arm as they hurtled through the dark tunnels.

When they arrived at Pepper's vault they all climbed shakily out of the cart. "Key please," said the goblin and Pepper handed it her key.

Her aunts gazed around the full vault as Pepper gathered coins from it. "Told you I was rich," Pepper said matter-of-factly as she saw their surprised faces. Once her bag was filled to the top with gold Galleons, a few silver Sickles and a handful of bronze Knuts, the goblin closed the vault and asked her if she'd like to see her other one. "Sure, why not," Pepper replied, curious to see if her other vault was filled like the first one.

The goblin asked for her key again and she handed it to it. When he opened the second vault it was Pepper's turn to look surprised and gasp. Half of the vault was filled with Galleons and the rest of it was full of jewels. Lying on the floor was a single folded piece of parchment, which looked very out of place among the glittering riches.

"Oh my god," Phoebe breathed.

"What's this?" Pepper wondered, stepping inside the vault and picking up the piece of parchment. Holding the paper, Pepper picked up a red jewel that appeared to be a ruby in her other hand and studied both the folded parchment and the jewel with great interest. The goblin gave an impatient cough so Pepper pocketed the jewel and the parchment and left the vault.

Once the four Halliwells were outside of Gringotts they all burst into excited chatter about Pepper's second vault.

"I have JEWELS!" Pepper exclaimed as Phoebe said, "Give US some!" Piper cried, "WHAT are you going to do with all that money?" and Paige asked, "Why didn't you tell us?"

"I had no idea I had jewels," Pepper told them. "And you can have some, I have no idea what I'm going to do with all that! You realize that if I converted all those coins and jewels into Muggle money I'd be a millionaire!"

"I'd bet you'd be a multi-millionaire, Pep," Phoebe said.

"I had no idea I was THAT rich," said Pepper in awe. "_Cool_. Well, I know what I'm going to do with some of this, at least."

For the rest of the afternoon Pepper, Phoebe, Paige and Piper walked around Diagon Alley, looking in most of the shops. Pepper bought Christmas presents for her aunts, Leo, Harry, Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Neville, Luna, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and the owl she and Hermione shared, Cashlinn. Satisfied that she'd shopped for everyone she knew (save Malfoy), Paige orbed them all back to the Manor.

Tired from a long day of shopping Pepper fell asleep when her head hit the pillow, forgetting all about the mysterious parchment that still occupied her jean pocket.

"The old fool has gotten his hands on another secret weapon," said a high-pitched, cruel voice. "We eliminated the first, though from what my spies have told me this one is much more powerful. We must destroy her, Wormtail."

"But how, my Lord? She resides at Hogwarts, the one place we can not get to," said Wormtail.

"We must find a way. Get me Malfoy, I need to speak with him," said Wormtail's master.

"Yes, my Lord," Wormtail whimpered, bowing himself from the room.

Minutes later, Lucius Malfoy appeared in the room, bowing before his master. "Yes Lord?" he said. "What do you wish me to do?"

"Get rid of the Halliwell girl, Lucius," Voldemort commanded. "I am aware that it won't be an easy task, but it must be done. She is the greatest threat to me, especially if she fights alongside Harry Potter."

"Yes, my Lord. My son is working on making her weaker. He tells me he is making great progress," Lucius said. "He says her powers are pathetic, and her heart shall be easy to take."

"Good, good," Voldemort murmured. "Once he has succeeded, we must lure her from Hogwarts where we can finish the job we've set out to start. And this time, our plan must succeed."

Harry Potter awoke with a start, drenched in a cold sweat, his scar burning. "Pepper," he exclaimed in a whisper. Getting out of bed, not caring if he woke Ron, he opened the trunk at the foot of his bed and pulled out a piece of parchment.

Dipping his quill in ink, he set it on the paper and began to write. Before he'd gotten finished with the first sentence, he thought better of it and stopped writing.

No, he thought, no need to worry her. But shouldn't I go to someone about it? he told himself. Dumbledore? Yes, I'll go to Dumbledore first thing in the morning, he decided, climbing back into his four-poster.

But Harry didn't get back to sleep that night. In his mind he kept replaying the dream – well, as much of it as he could remember. He knew Voldemort had been there, and a Death Eater and they were plotting to kill Pepper. When, Harry didn't know, but he knew there had been urgency in the way Voldemort spoke. Harry had also detected a bit of fear in Voldemort's voice...Harry feared they would attack soon, and Pepper knew nothing about it.

Wait, had Voldemort said that he had spies? Harry's eyes grew wide in shock. There were spies at Hogwarts? But who? Had Snape turned back to the Dark side? How else would Voldemort know that Pepper's powers were weak? The only time she'd exerted them was in Potions class...

It was six thirty before Harry snapped out of his thoughts and realized how tired he really was. He got out of bed and dressed. Putting on his robes inside out – for that's how tired he was – he went down into the deserted common room. Nothing in here was worth his time so he exited the room and headed towards Dumbledore's office.

It wasn't until he arrived at the griffin statue that he remembered he didn't know the password, as it changed frequently. He tried "Tootsie Roll" just in case, but, just as he suspected, Dumbledore had changed it. Trying to get his brain to remember the names of sweets, he rambled a list of them at the statue. Finally, at "Pumpkin Pasties," the statue admitted him to the twisting staircase, and he stepped onto it gratefully. Taking the griffin knocker in his hand, Harry beat it twice upon the door before Dumbledore admitted him into the office.

"Mr. Potter, what brings you here so early in the morning?" Dumbledore asked Harry, motioning for the boy to sit down. He had a soft smile of concern on his face, noticing that Harry looked very tired.

"I had a dream last night, Professor Dumbledore," Harry began. "Voldemort and a Death Eater were in it and they were plotting something. They're after Pepper, sir. They're plotting to kill her."

Dumbledore's look of concern deepened as he listened to Harry. He had been afraid Voldemort would find out about the powers of Pepper Halliwell-Black, and he had a good idea who had tipped him off.

"Voldemort said something about Pepper being a weapon...but there was one before her, one whom they had eliminated already...?" Harry said in confusion.

"Ah, yes. By the first weapon he would, of course, mean Pepper's mother: Prue Halliwell," Dumbledore said sadly. "What else did your dream tell you, Harry?"

"Voldemort's spy told him Pepper's much more powerful...that has to mean there's a spy in Hogwarts, Professor," said Harry. "But the only place Pepper's shown her powers is in Potions, so that must mean it was someone there..." said Harry, desperately hoping Dumbledore would realize it was Snape that had told Voldemort about Pepper and her powers.

"Yes, I am aware that there are some who might be in Voldemort's circle," said Dumbledore. "The question is, how did he find out that she is to be our 'weapon?'"

"Who do you think it is, sir?" Harry wondered.

"Some of the students have parents who are Death Eaters, Harry, and I'm sure they've been told to keep an eye out for any new tricks I have up my sleeve..." Dumbledore said thoughtfully.

"Oh," said Harry, feeling a little stupid for thinking it was Snape and not thinking about Crabbe, Goyle, Malfoy and other Slytherins that had Death Eater parents. After all, Snape was in the Order. "Does Pepper know of the students who may be a threat to her?"

"I have informed her to be careful, as there are some students it may not be wise to use her powers around, though I did not tell her specific names. I think it best for you not to say anything to her either, Harry," Dumbledore said in a tone of finality.

Harry was about to ask why but the look on Dumbledore's face told him it was time for him to leave. "Now I advise you to go get some rest, Harry. Happy holidays," Dumbledore smiled.

Harry left the office feeling a little better now that he had talked to Dumbledore, though he was still very worried about Pepper.


	20. Chapter 19: Christmas Gifts

**A/N: Thank you muchly to my three, faithful reviewers, you have made my heart soar in its great time of woe. **

**And why is it a great time of woe, you ask. Well, I shall tell you, interested persons. It is, in fact, a great time of woe because today was my first day of high school! And I'm not too fond of it, I can tell you that. Out of 9 periods I only have one class with a single friend. Well, I have lunch with a friend and a semi-friend, and we sat next to two random guys (who thought we liked them) just because we didn't want to look like dorks and sit alone. **

**But! Enough of my ranting! On with the story!**

**Oh, by the way, since I've started school of highness I won't be able to write as much, so I won't have another chappy up for a while, but please bear with me, I am continuing with the story. **

**Chapter Nineteen**

It was Christmas Eve and the Manor was bustling with movement. Decorations were being put up, the tree was erected in the living room, baked goods were being made and demons were being fought. Pepper was glad to be home again, she was glad to be falling back into the old routine of the Halliwells. She had almost forgotten how hectic life could be here.

That night, as was tradition, each family member opened one gift. Pepper opened one from her Aunt Paige and, not surprisingly, was given a gift of a kinky nature. Pepper thanked her aunt for the present. Piper, seeing Pepper's gift, told Paige rather loudly that she would NOT under any circumstances be giving her daughter gifts like that.

Pepper smiled. Yep, life was definitely right here. Once again, she had thoughts of staying here and not returning to Hogwarts.

Pepper and her aunts sat by the fireplace, a blazing fire in the grate, (which reminded Pepper of the Gryffindor common room), sipping hot chocolate and sharing stories. Pepper was telling her aunts the things about Hogwarts she could not tell them in a letter, and her aunts were telling her of what they had been doing for the past few months.

"He kissed you back right there? In front of the whole class? When he calls you bad names and says he hates you?" Paige exclaimed, confused, when Pepper told them about making her clones appear in Potions class.

"Yes, and then he kissed me later in the hallways after my detention," Pepper said.

"I think you should stay away from Malfoy, Pepper," Piper told her. "He sounds suspicious, and your father told us the Malfoy's aren't a well-liked family. Highly respected and rich, but not well-liked."

"I think so too, Pep," Phoebe said. "Even if you do have feelings for him, I think you should ignore them. I know that may be hard to do, but I think it's best. It sounds as if he's playing with your mind – or your heart. Just focus all your affection on Harry, I think one guy is enough." She smiled at her niece.

"Yeah, I suppose your right. I don't want anyone else to be mad at me, anyway," Pepper sighed. "He's just so good-looking," she whined. Her aunts laughed. "He _is_!"

Harry awoke Christmas morning with no thoughts of the dream he had last night, as he didn't remember it at all.

Ron was already opening his gifts when Harry emerged from the bathroom, and he glanced at his pile, too. "Thanks Harry!" Ron exclaimed, pulling the Chudley Cannons robes from their wrapping.

"You're welcome," Harry said, stuffing a Chocolate Frog from Ron into his mouth. "Thanks," he said thickly to Ron.

"Welcome," Ron replied. He picked a card from his next package and read it aloud. "_Thought your old set was too well used...Merry Christmas, Love, Pepper._" Upon opening the gift he found that it was a new wizard's chess set, the pieces all lined in gold. "Cool," he said.

"What is it?" Harry asked Ron, opening the package that contained his usual sweater from Mrs. Weasley.

"Pepper sent me a new chess set," Ron told him, reaching for another gift from his pile.

"Oh, I haven't gotten to her present yet," Harry said.

He and Ron continued opening package after package until their piles were almost gone. When Harry thought he'd gotten something from everyone he knew he lifted a gift and his eyes fell on a very long, rectangular box. "What's this?" he wondered aloud, pulling it towards himself.

He unfolded the card that was attached to it and read it. _Harry, Thanks for everything you've done for me these past few months, I don't know how I would've made it at Hogwarts without you. Merry Christmas...Love, Pepper._

He opened the box and stared at the gift in disbelief. "Bloody hell," he murmured.

Pepper's Christmas was the best she'd had in a long time. She received most everything she'd asked for and she was having a great time with her family, not to mention the fact that she was glad she didn't have any homework to do.

A few days before Pepper was due to return to Hogwarts, and owl flew in through the open kitchen window, landing on the counter with a small hoot. Piper entered the kitchen and found the owl. Untying the letter from its leg, she opened it.

_Miss Halliwell and family,_

_I wish to give you the opportunity to visit the house of Sirius Black, as I've heard Pepper has wanted to see it. If you do wish to see it, please send me an owl back as soon as possible, I may be at your house at eleven o' clock in the morning on the twenty-seventh of December. _

_Albus Dumbledore_

Piper reread the letter, not fully believing Pepper had the opportunity she had been waiting for for almost a year now. "Pepper!" she called loudly, hoping her voice would carry upstairs to Pepper's room. She read the letter once more as Pepper came bounding down the stairs and into the kitchen.

"What?" she asked, coming up beside her aunt.

"Read this," Piper ordered, handing the letter from Dumbledore to Pepper.

Pepper's eyes scanned it and then she smiled happily. "Is this for real?" she asked, not believing that Dumbledore was giving her this chance. "I can't believe it...I'll actually get to see my dad's house. Have you written Dumbledore back yet?"

"No, I was thinking you should," Piper said.

"Alright." Pepper flipped the parchment over, picked up a pen from the kitchen counter and began writing an answer to Dumbledore. When she was finished, she tied it to the leg of the owl that was waiting patiently on the counter, fed it a Cheese Nip and it flew out the open window. "Hey, that's in two days, isn't it?" Pepper said. "Awesome, I get to see my dad's house in two days." And with that, she ran upstairs to write a letter to Hermione telling her about Dumbledore's news.

At eleven o' clock on the dot on the twenty-seventh of December a small _pop_ was heard in the living room of the Manor. Pepper, who had been lounging on the couch and reading a magazine, was startled to see Albus Dumbledore standing in her living room. She hurriedly pulled down her shirt to cover her midriff.

"Hello, Miss Halliwell," Dumbledore said with a smile, his cool blue eyes twinkling.

"Hello, Professor Dumbledore," Pepper replied, standing up. "I'll go get my aunts then...it is alright if they come, isn't it?"

"Of course," Dumbledore said.

"Thanks...oh, where are my manners; would you like something to drink?" Pepper asked, a bit stunned by the fact that Hogwarts' headmaster was standing in her living room.

"No thank you, Miss Halliwell," Dumbledore said, looking slightly amused.

"Ok, well, I'll go get my aunts. Have a seat," said Pepper, exiting the room to find Piper, Phoebe and Paige.

She found all three of them upstairs. "Aunt Phoebe, Aunt Piper, Aunt Paige, come on, Dumbledore's here," she told them.

The four witches went downstairs and entered the living room, where Dumbledore was still standing, holding a picture in his hand. When he saw the women enter the room he placed it back on the mantelpiece and smiled at them. "Hello," he greeted. "Miss Matthews," – he shook Paige's hand – "Miss Halliwell," – he shook Phoebe's hand – "Miss Wyatt," – he shook Piper's hand – "It's so nice to see you all again."

Pepper was puzzled, when had Dumbledore met her aunts?, but no one saw it as Dumbledore was talking to Paige about where to orb. "Is everyone ready?" Paige asked, grabbing Pepper's hand.

Seconds later they were standing on a wooden floor in what appeared to be a dining room. There were candles lighting the room and a table running almost the length of it. Off to the right there was a door that led into the kitchen, and another door led into the sitting room.

"Welcome to number twelve, Grimmauld Place," Dumbledore said. "You may look around as much as you please, except for one room, where there is a meeting for the Order of the Phoenix currently taking place."

Suddenly, the sitting room door burst open and in sped young woman with short, spiky green hair, holding a shovel for the fireplace above her head. "Oh, Professor, it's you," she panted, lowering the shovel. "We knew someone had entered the house but we weren't sure who it was."

"Hello, Tonks. I have brought the Halliwells here to have a look around, as young Miss Halliwell has desired to see her father's house," Dumbledore explained.

"Oh, yes, of course," the woman said. "OOH! We haven't met, I'm Nymphadora Tonks, but I prefer just Tonks," she explained to Pepper and her aunts, holding out the hand that wasn't grasping the shovel for them to shake.

Pepper took her hand and shook it. "I'm Pepper Halliwell and these are my aunts, Piper, Paige and Phoebe."

"Hello again," Tonks said, nodding at Pepper's aunts. She looked at Pepper thoughtfully, tilting her head to the side. "You do look like Sirius," she mused. "He was my cousin, you know. Well," she added more briskly, "I'll just get back to the meeting, then. Nice to see you all again, nice to meet you Pepper, good day." She exited the room, leaving Dumbledore and the Halliwells once again.

"I, too, must get to the meeting. You may search as much as you please, and when you are done and ready to move on, come knock at the drawing room door," Dumbledore said, and with a nod he left the room as well.

"Thank you, Professor Dumbledore," Pepper called after him. "Well," she said, turning to her aunts, "let's get to searching then, shall we?"

They spent the rest of the morning and some of the afternoon looking through the house, and Pepper felt tears streaming down her face more than once, as she found things that reminded her of her father. She had a vague recollection of being in one of the bedrooms and Piper told her that she had slept in here for a time when she was an infant. Pepper couldn't believe she remembered being here.

In one room Pepper spotted a tapestry hanging on the wall. It was a family tree – Pepper's father's family tree. At the top it read The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black.

Pepper looked at the family tree, wanting to find her father, but to her surprise, he wasn't there. Instead, at the bottom of the tapestry where Sirius should have been there was a burn mark. Pepper found another burn mark between two names, Bellatrix and Narcissa. Both of those names struck a bell and she wondered where she'd heard them before.

She followed the gold thread leading from Narcissa Black and found that it was connected to Lucius Malfoy, from there it led to Draco Malfoy. Pepper shuddered. So Harry hadn't been lying, she really was related to Malfoy.

Wanting to know about Bellatrix Black, she followed that line to Rodolphus Lestrange. Bellatrix Lestrange...Harry had mentioned her before, he said she was a Death Eater, the Death Eater who had...done something important...

Then it hit Pepper, Lestrange was the Death Eater who had murdered her father! Pepper's fists clenched in anger as she stared murderously at the tapestry.

"Let's go, I'm done looking around," Pepper said to her aunts, spinning on her heel and walking out of the room. She trudged downstairs and knocked solidly on the door to the one room they hadn't been allowed to enter: the drawing room.

Dumbledore opened the door and stepped from the room, smiling down at Pepper. "Find anything of interest?" he asked kindly.

"Sort of," Pepper hissed through clenched teeth. She couldn't believe Sirius' own cousin had murdered him...

"Well, let's go to our next destination," Dumbledore offered.

Pepper didn't know they were going somewhere else, but she grabbed the hand Paige offered and they orbed from the house.

The five of them were now standing on a grassy lawn, looking up at a beautiful white house.

"Why are we here?" Pepper asked. She'd already seen her father's house...

"This, Miss Halliwell, is your _father's_ house, the one he purchased himself when you were born," Dumbledore told her. "Number twelve, Grimmauld Place belonged to Sirius' parents."

Pepper turned from Dumbledore to stare once again at the house. It was beautiful: a white mansion with a wrap around porch, picture windows, and balconies coming from the two front second floor windows. Vines covered the walls of the house – it looked like nothing had been cared for in sixteen years. "You mean he bought this house for me to live in?" Pepper asked.

"For you, him and Prue to live in," Phoebe answered, her eyes scanning the house. "Prue and Sirius went to the countryside two months before Prue was due to have the baby...they said they searched everywhere until they found the perfect place..." It sounded as if Phoebe was talking to her memories and not to the people around her.

"And this _is_ the perfect place, I can tell you that, Pep," Piper said, gazing at the house as well.

"Let's go in then, shall we?" Dumbledore suggested, looking around at the family with a smile. "I'm sure Pepper's anxious to see the inside."

Dumbledore led them across the untailored lawn and up to the ornately carved front door. "This is where I leave you," he said. "You will find the door unlocked. I trust you don't need me to find your way back to your home. Good day to you all." That said, Dumbledore disappeared before their eyes.

"Are you ready, honey?" Phoebe asked Pepper.

Pepper pushed the door open and as it squeaked back on its hinges an old, dusty room was revealed. The room appeared to be an entrance hall, since there were doors leading to and from the room around the room and there was a staircase leading to upper floors. When they stepped inside candles held in brackets lining the walls sprung to life, lighting themselves and casting light on the dark room.

"Handy," Pepper commented, walking across the dust coated floor, her shoes leaving prints in the dirt.

She stepped on the first stair of the staircase and looked back at her aunts expectantly, wanting them to follow her. They complied, pursuing Pepper up the stairs to the first floor.

The first door they entered appeared to be an office, so they didn't do much searching. In fact, the whole first floor was pretty uninteresting, just boxes, dust and rats, so they proceeded to floor number two.

The first door on that floor was opened and Pepper gazed around, interested. In the room was a crib, **Pepper** written on the side in bold silver lettering. Pepper ran her hand over the dusty crib, tears springing to her eyes as she looked on the table next to the crib – there was a picture of her parents, her father was picking up her pregnant mother and they were both laughing.

On the other side of the sizeable room there was a white and pink wooden dresser, a mobile placed on top of it. A rocking chair was placed beside the dresser and it had pictures scattered on it and a tissue box placed on top.

"Why didn't I ever live here?" Pepper asked hoarsely, going carefully through some of the photographs on the rocking chair.

Piper, Paige and Phoebe were also looking around at the room's items and Phoebe came over and put her hand on her niece's shoulder.

"Prue was putting the finishing touches on this house when she got the news that Sirius was put in Azkaban. She just dropped the project then and there and never came back to this house. That news devastated her; she figured he was as good as dead since people died in that prison every day. She thought that it was just a matter of time before he was dead...that's why you grew up no knowing your father."

"Until he escaped," Pepper said.

"Right. Prue never dreamed that could happen, but it did," Phoebe said with a smile.

"Why didn't we come to live here, then?" Pepper asked.

"Prue had to be a part of the Power of Three," Piper explained, stepping up beside Pepper and going through some of the pictures as Pepper was doing. "At that point she didn't want to move from America to England, especially because you were used to living at the Manor."

"So this place is in England?" Pepper asked, looking at the window out onto the massive grounds, as if there was a sign that told her they were, in fact, in England. She didn't find one so she walked back over to her aunts. Paige was looking in the crib but Piper and Phoebe were still standing by the rocking chair.

"Yeah, it's England. Prue figured you'd be going to Hogwarts so she wanted the transition to be easier, I suppose," Phoebe said. "But then everything changed..."

"Why didn't I go to Hogwarts when I was eleven?" Pepper wondered. "Did I get a letter?"

"Yes, you got a letter, but we didn't show it to you," Piper said. "Prue wanted to teach you our witchcraft, not the stuff at Hogwarts. I'm not sure if she was planning on sending you for the sixth and seventh years or not..."

"She wasn't going to send me to Hogwarts?" Pepper said sharply. "At all? Even when I got a LETTER! Why couldn't I have just gone my first year? I mean, I learned a lot about our craft before I was eleven! And I could've learned more in the summer vacations!"

"Prue had her reasons, I'm sure, Pepper," Piper told her niece, trying to calm the girl down.

"But wouldn't my dad have wanted me to go?"

"I'm sure Prue talked to Sirius, Pep, I'm sure they came to a decision together," Piper said.

"Well, we'll never know now, will we, because they're dead and they've left me with all this shit to deal with," Pepper hissed, her temper rising fast. "They could have at least told me about Hogwarts and I'd be going there after they died, or they could have told me about this gigantic house they've suddenly left to me or the vault full of jewels in a wizarding bank in another country that I had no idea about!"

"Pepper, honey, take a deep breath, you know you're not mad at your parents, you know they must've had good reasons for everything," Phoebe soothed.

"No, actually, I don't know that," Pepper said. "And like I said, I never will! Hey, they also could have told me that I was a really powerful witch that has to help Harry defeat Voldemort, even though Harry's in the Prophecy that says either he or Voldemort has to DIE but it rests on MY SHOULDERS! OR that I'd have to make friends and have feelings for boys and I'd like my second cousin! OR that my god brother is my SOUL MATE and we could perform a curse that could bring my dad back to life! They could have fucking WARNED me of SOMETHING!"

Pepper stopped yelling, (instead she stood there, breathing heavily), as she watched her aunts shocked faces. Paige had turned from the crib and was looking directly at Pepper.

"What?" Pepper asked softly, not understanding why they were so shocked.

"You can bring Sirius back to life?" Phoebe breathed.

Pepper gulped. "Yes," she said meekly.

"For good?" Phoebe wondered.

"Not exactly," Pepper said warily, not wanting to continue the conversation. She wasn't supposed to tell her aunts that...she needed an excuse to get them off of the subject.

"But it's too dangerous, so Harry and I aren't going to do it," she lied quickly, "Plus, it involves a very complicated potion and some spell in Latin or something...it is way to complicated and advanced for us so we aren't even going to attempt it. We don't even know the ingredients, and even if we did there's no way we could get them – they wouldn't be in the students' stores."

"Oh...hold on, back up, hon...did you say you were Harry's soul mate?" Paige asked confusedly.

"Yes...Hermione figured it out somehow, it's very hard to explain," Pepper said, really not wanting to talk to her aunts about this, especially because it involved a very heated kiss between her and Harry.

"Well I'd like to know about this," Piper ordered, "Paige, orb us back, please."

Pepper had the feeling that she was in trouble as she held on to her Aunt Paige's arm while her other two aunts did the same. As Paige was orbing away something driving Pepper told her to let go of Paige's arm, so she did.

She watched her three aunts orb away without her, disappearing in blue and white crystals.

"Great Pepper, look what you've done; now you're stuck in a dark, dank mansion all by your little self. Great work," she said to the emptiness, wondering how long it would take her aunts to realize what had happened. In that time she decided to run.


	21. Chapter 20: Suprises in the Other House ...

**A/N: I can't believe it! 10 reviews! I'm going to cry because I'm so happy! Thank you all for all of your wonderful compliments! **

**I had fun beta reading my own story... I haven't posted my new revised edition yet, I'm too lazy and too busy at the moment. But! As I read I wrote down all I own and since I haven't really done a disclaimer yet, here it is!**

**Disclaimer: **I own none of the people, places, things or ideas you recognize as J.K. Rowling's or the Charmed peoples'. However, I do own Pepper, the Moonbeam Five Hundred, Prue's Animagus form, the plot (whatever plot is in this thing, at least), the way to get Pepper's Gringotts key, the menu's at P3 (the way they're under plastic), Doguo the demon, Professor Ardel, Beaumink feather, Fresh Breath Charm, Adleroot, Glamour Charm, Voice Altering Potion, Cecile's Costume Room, Masquerade Ball, Oddities Unknown (the band in case you forgot), Cashlinn the owl, Voldemort's plan and Sirius' extra house! Oh, I also own the tie between Charmed and Harry Potter. That's a pretty big chunk of stuff, isn't it?

**I don't know why I'm saying this...but I want to ramble at the moment. **

**My dad says if Bush is elected president again we're moving to Canada! So I was like, "Hey dad, can we move to England?" and he said no, it was too expensive. **

**Hence why I'm wondering: How expensive is it to live in England?**

**Anyway! I know this is a short chapter, people, but I'm busy and I like this chapter anyway! **

****

**Chapter Twenty**

Paige, Piper and Phoebe all arrived at the Manor, prepared to have a talking to with Pepper, but they found she wasn't there. "Where'd we loose her?" Phoebe wondered. "Did you drop her Paige?"

"No," Paige said, miffed that her sister would accuse her of doing that, "She must've let go, or fallen off."

"Well we've got to orb her back, we can't just leave her there alone, there's no telling what will happen," said Piper. "Or you two can go back, I'm feeling a little nauseous." Piper plopped onto a chair.

"Paige, why don't you go back in case Piper needs something..." Phoebe said, looking concernedly at her older sister.

"Okay, I'll be right back, I'm sure Pepper will be waiting there..." said Paige, orbing from the room.

As Pepper wandered aimlessly, (and as quietly as possible so her aunts couldn't hear her if they were there), around the gigantic mansion she searched rooms and closets, finding few things of interest to her.

The more she thought, the angrier she became. She couldn't believe that her mother wasn't thinking of sending her to Hogwarts. She couldn't believe her father would have permitted it! After all the stories Harry had told her about what Sirius and James Potter had done together as kids...her father had loved Hogwarts and he hadn't wanted Pepper to attend.

Her thoughts proved to her that she did, indeed, love Hogwarts, no matter how complicated her life was becoming because of it. She loved her friends and the castle, the meals, the late night studying, the games of Exploding Snap in the common room... not to mention the fact that she loved learning about her father.

Pepper entered what looked like a storage room – it was full of boxes and trunks, some open with articles of clothing and paper spilling from them. A piece of faded blue parchment caught her eye and she picked it up.

_My dearest Prue, _it read, _my work schedule is heinous, and I am unable to get away at this point in time. I'm really trying to get away, as I much desire to see you, but it is near impossible. Dumbledore has us working our asses off! I'm sure, if you wished, you could come visit me over here - everyone wants to see you again. Though, I'm sure you have doubts with being pregnant and all. I must go now, bloody Voldemort, always ruins everything, doesn't he? Write back soon, love, _

_All my love,_

_Sirius_

Pepper smiled. Her mother had told her that her father had been quite the romantic...and his love letters were legendary in her family; Sirius always had been teased about them. But Pepper had never been able to get a hold of one, perhaps because they were all here.

Pepper reached for another letter in the box that the previous letter had been from. She took a seat on a rusty trunk and began to read.

_Prue, my love, _

_I'm coming tomorrow night, as I'm sure I've already told you a million times. I'm so excited; I haven't seen you in almost a month! Dumbledore's finally let me take a break...James and I were planning on visiting you and your sisters for a weekend – only if that is alright with you and your sisters. Lily is on holiday with a few of her girlfriends so James is wife free for a few days, much to his delight. He's tired of her raging pregnancy hormones...not that I'm saying I know the feeling! On the contrary, love, I'm quite fond of your mood swings: they can amuse me for quite some time, as I'm sure you know. I'm looking forward to my visit, and I hope you are too!_

_Love,_

_Sirius _

Pepper, very interested now, pulled the box of letters towards herself, eager to look through more.

_Dear Prue, darling, Things here are so hectic..._

_Siri, I'm having trouble without you here..._

_Padfoot, love, please come back! My heart is aching in your absence and the baby is kicking! If you could only feel it...I'm sure you'd be so happy. I can't wait to see our baby girl. I hope she has your hair, it's so sexy..._

_Honey, I wish you were here right now to see the stars set in this sky; it's so beautiful. It reminds me of you so much. It also reminds me to tell you that I'm coming for a visit next week..._

_Prue, it's James Potter, just writing to ask you to check up on Lily. She says she feels fine but I know she's ill, though she went away anyway. Hope you two are having fun..._

_Sweets, You should feel this girl inside of me! She's so happy! She's kicking (which hurts) and doing all these magical things to me. I'm indestructible, it seems as no demons can touch me! But she misses her daddy, I can tell..._

As Pepper pulled another stack of letters from the box a small leather bound book fell out. She opened the cover to see the name _Prudence Halliwell_ written in neat cursive on the inside cover. Pepper looked appreciatively at the book. Her mother's diary...

_Dear Diary,_

_Gram gave me this diary to record what happens here at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Today's my first day at Hogwarts – it's so awkward, my coming in the middle of my second year! The old Sorting Hat has placed me in Gryffindor where I've made some friends. There's this older boy that seems to have taken a liking to me. His name's Sirius Black and he's pretty handsome. He's a seventh year, though, so he's way too old for me. _

_This place is so big! It's really confusing and I have NO idea how I'm ever going to learn the way to all my classes! I've had to follow people around everywhere. What's really odd about this place is that every single person is British! Apparently there are wizarding schools in America, but this one is better than all of them combined, and I got a letter from this place so that's why I'm here! I got my letter last year but mom and Grams wouldn't let me go but when I got another this year they did. They had to check into everything and have a lot of talks with the headmaster, but they finally let me come here. I'm really glad they did, it's so cool here! The pictures move! _

_Well, I'm really tired, so I'll write more tomorrow. _

_-Prue_

So her mother had been at Hogwarts...Pepper hadn't known that! She wondered why no one had informed her of that little fact. But then again, she'd never asked, or never even wondered for that matter. How else did I think my parents met? she thought.

She flipped a few more pages in the diary and commenced reading it.

_Dear Diary,_

_Day one of week two at Hogwarts wasn't very fascinating. I asked my new friend Carrie whether she believed in love at first sight, and she just laughed! Then she asked my why I wanted to know and I told her someone else was taking a poll and I was helping her out! She didn't seem satisfied, but I couldn't think of any other excuse, I'm not very good at lying. The real reason was because I think I may be in love with that seventh year, Sirius Black. He held a door open for me today and our eyes met...oh it was so spectacular: I felt my heart skip a beat and my stomach did sort of a jumping thing...I hope he feels the same way about me. His eyes are so breathtaking...but I noticed he's the most popular Gryffindor there is. Girls are always giggling when they're around him and he's a real flirt. He hangs out in this group with his best friend, James Potter, and two of his other friends: Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew. This girl, Lily Evans, who helped me with my homework today, said that Sirius and James are really cocky and James has a huge crush on her, but she doesn't return his affections. I don't care, though; I think I'm in love with him. That is, if this, if this is really what love is like. I think I'll talk to him tomorrow... _

_- Prue _

Love at first sight...Pepper sighed. It was a little weird to her that her father had been the heartthrob of Gryffindor, but she thought it was so romantic that her mother had fallen in love with him so early on. And that her father had returned her mother's feelings. Well, it seemed that way at least. Pepper was anxious to see what happened next. She wanted to know if her mother talked to Sirius the next day...and what happened after that. Flipping the page over, she saw it was dated two days later, so she began to read again.

_Dear Diary,_

_I finally worked up the courage to talk to Sirius today, so I asked him to help me with my Transfiguration assignment while we were in the common room! He smiled (he's got a dazzling smile, did I tell you?) and said "Sure." Can you believe it? He said SURE to me! James, on the other hand, snickered, hit Sirius on the shoulder and said, "Hey Padfoot, seems like someone fancies you." It was really embarrassing, but I just smiled and walked away. So he helped me with my essay tonight and he touched my hand! Yep, I'm definitely in love. It was so romantic, though I'm not sure Sirius meant it to be but _–

"There you are Pepper!" Paige exclaimed, striding into the room and squeezing next to her niece on the trunk. Pepper had shut the diary as soon as she'd heard her aunt's voice, and she was now staring at the older woman. "I was looking for you everywhere, Piper and Phoebe really want you home."

"I'm in trouble, aren't I?" Pepper asked, trying discreetly to tuck the diary in her pocket without Paige noticing. She wasn't sure why she was so protective of it, but she felt the need to take care if it.

"I think Piper may be mad, but that's probably just her hormones," Paige said, smiling reassuringly. "Pepper, why aren't you comfortable around me?" she asked suddenly.

"What are you talking about, Aunt Paige?" Pepper wondered, though she knew perfectly well what her aunt was asking.

"You know what I'm talking about, Pepper. You're not as comfortable and laid back around me as you are with Piper and Phoebe. You don't joke with me or make fun of me or –"

"Yes I do," Pepper said, cutting her aunt off. She thought she did those things with Paige...

"Is it because you haven't known me all of your life?" Paige asked. "Because if you feel uncomfortable around me and you're afraid you're going to embarrass yourself or something then...well, you shouldn't feel that way."

"It's because you took my mom's place," Pepper said angrily. "Alright, that's why! I mean, my mom just died and then you come in like a hero and revive the power of three. So everyone worships you and forgets about mom."

"Oh Pepper, sweetie, I didn't know you felt that way," Paige said, putting an arm around Pepper. "I'm not trying to take your mom's place; I'd never want to do that. Piper and Phoebe haven't forgotten about her. On the contrary, they remind me about her all the time. Pepper, I want you to treat me like you treat Piper and Phoebe. Okay? I swear to you I don't want to take your mother's place and I'm not trying in any way to do that. You've got to believe me. Alright?"

"Alright," Pepper said grudgingly, though she wasn't sure she fully believed Paige.

"Pepper! Like I said, I'm NOT trying to replace your mother!" Paige repeated, unconvinced that Pepper really believed her. She sighed in frustration. "I couldn't ever take her place. I just want to be Paige Matthews."

Pepper opened her mouth to say something but was cut off by three people storming into the room. Phoebe had her hands on her hips and was staring at the Paige and Pepper.

"Where have you been? You were supposed to bring her home, Paige!" Phoebe scolded. She gasped as she saw the box Pepper had been pulling the letters from. "Is this what I think it is?" she breathed, kneeling on the floor in front of the letter box.

She picked out a piece of parchment and unfolded it. "Piper," Phoebe said softly. "These are Sirius and Prue's _love letters_."

Piper stepped further into the room, heading past Leo and kneeling next to her sister. "Really?" Piper, like Phoebe, pulled one of the letters from the box and opened it. "Wow, I haven't seen these things for _years_."

"Well, isn't this a happy moment?" Pepper said sarcastically, trying to hide all the emotions she was currently experiencing. "Now if you don't _mind_ I'd like to go home."

Piper turned her head and looked very pointedly at Leo.

"Come on, kiddo, I'll take you home," Leo said, realizing what Piper's look meant.

He held out his hand for Pepper to take, and she accepted it graciously. Standing near the doorway they orbed back to the Manor, leaving Pepper's aunts to peer at her parents' love letters.

**Remember – REVIEW! And all you Englanders out there, please answer my question because if it isn't too expensive maybe I can move to ENGLAND! YAY! **


	22. Chapter 21: In Which Everyone is Shocked

**A/N: Thanks again to my reviews and you cool English people who answered my last author's note. I am proud to say that this story is 150 pages and still going pretty strong. I heart you reviewers! I don't have much to say, so on with the longer-than-last-chappy chapter! **

**Chapter Twenty-One**

When Pepper and Leo arrived back at the Manor Pepper made a mad dash to get to her room before Leo could stop her. Unluckily for Pepper, her uncle grabbed her arm as she was at the foot of the stairs.

"Pepper, don't try to run away, I know there's something up," Leo said, pulling Pepper into the living room. "Piper said that you could bring Sirius back to life."

"I don't want any more questions! I'm tired of questions!" Pepper said, plopping herself heavily onto the couch.

"Pepper, what are you talking about?" Leo asked kindly, sitting on the couch across from Pepper.

"Arghhh," Pepper said, exasperated. She leaned forward, her elbows on her knees and both hands clutched tightly in her hair. "Why does everyone have to ask _Pepper_ questions? I'm sure there are plenty of other people out there in the world with problems that you could help and question but _no_, everyone has to question what's with me!"

"Pepper, I can tell something's wrong, will you just tell me what it is?" Leo asked, more tenderly this time as Pepper was obviously upset.

Pepper clutched her hair more tightly, as if she was trying to rip out her hair. "I'm sorry, Uncle Leo, it's not your fault," she sighed. "It's just that questions about my life and well-being are being thrown at me left and right. If I wanted everyone to know my deep, dark secrets then I'd post them on a bloody billboard or something...I mean, first Harry, then Hermione...Ginny did it...Aunt Piper....Aunt Paige is mad at me and now you're wondering about my dad. I want life to be simple again. Back before mom went off to fight and I went to Hogwarts." She sighed again.

Leo furrowed his brow in confusion. He hadn't known Pepper was this stressed. "I'm your Whitelighter, Pepper. If you don't want me to tell someone something I'm sworn to secrecy. So go ahead, vent on me, tell me anything and everything you want to let out."

Pepper dislodged her hands from her hair and looked up at Leo. "That's right..." she recalled, "So you won't even tell Aunt Piper, then?"

"Not if you don't want me two," Leo replied.

"Even if she badgers you?"

"Right," said Leo.

"Alright..." Pepper said hesitantly before she launched into telling Leo what he wanted to hear.

For the next quarter of an hour that's what she did, though she conveniently left out what she had told Hermione and Harry. She also left out the fact that she and Harry were planning on performing the Féminin Vivreencore Curse. She just told her uncle that they had found a curse but it was far too dangerous to even think about doing, so she and Harry had dropped the subject in an instant.

Lying wasn't her greatest talent, so while she told her uncle all of this her face was in her hands. "There, I've told you why I've been such a bitch lately," she finished, looking up into her Uncle Leo's face.

"I can see why you didn't tell me that in your letters," Leo said, cracking a slight smile. The look on his face was that of concern and slight amusement, as if Pepper's teenage trials were too lowly for his attention. But Pepper knew he was just trying to lighten the mood like he always did when she had problems in her life.

"Yeah, I just don't want to tell my aunts all of that, and they'll beat it out of me if it's the last thing they do...especially Aunt Piper. They were so interested when I said Harry was my soul mate and we could bring my dad back. I shouldn't have opened my big mouth. But I was just so riled up I didn't think about what I was saying."

Pepper returned her face to her hands, dreading the moment when Paige, Piper and Phoebe showed up. She knew her Uncle Leo wouldn't tell them anything, but they could punish her so she'd tell them. Pepper wished she was back at Hogwarts where no one was mad at her anymore, where her aunts weren't and where she could spend the rest of Christmas break with Harry and Ron.

In her mind's eye she pictured the Gryffindor common room. The squashy scarlet furniture, the immense fireplace with a warming fire in the grate, the wooden tables covered in parchment and books, the bulletin board covered in notices...

Suddenly Pepper experienced a sensation like on a roller coaster – it felt like the bottom of her stomach was falling out – and the couch she was sitting on grew softer. Puzzled, she opened her eyes, expecting to see her Uncle Leo sitting across from her. Instead her eyes rested upon the fireplace that she had just pictured.

She lifted her head up and glanced around. She was in the Gryffindor common room...but hadn't she just been in her own living room?

"Pepper?" Harry said as he descended the spiral staircase from the boys' dormitories. "What are you doing here?"

Pepper spun around to face Harry. He was looking as puzzled as she felt. "Hold on, Harry, I've got to try something," she said in a rush, putting her face in her hands once more.

She pictured the living room at the Manor with her Uncle Leo sitting in front of her. She felt the same sensation of the bottom of her stomach dropping out and seconds later she opened her eyes to see a very shocked Leo sitting across from her.

"What the hell?" he muttered.

"So I wasn't here for a minute?" Pepper asked.

"Yeah, where did you go?" Leo wondered.

"I _think_ I was in the Gryffindor common room," Pepper supplied.

"At _Hogwarts_?" said a skeptical Leo.

"Yes. I'm not really sure how but I pictured it in my mind and I had a desire to go there and...wham...I was there. Harry saw me and talked to me a bit, but I pictured being back here in my mind and – " Pepper shrugged innocently, "– I just appeared back here, I guess. Do you think it's another power? Because if it is, I am definitely not ready for it right now. I know that the Elders only hand out powers if they think someone's ready to have them but they are wrong on this one. With all the crap going on I am so not ready to deal with a new power."

"It probably is another power, Pepper," Leo told her. "You know the Elders have reasons for doing things like this, so they must think you're ready. It seems as if you already have this power figured out, anyway."

"If it puts me in every situation I imagine, then I so do not have control over it! Do you know how many things I picture a day?!" Pepper paused, staring at her uncle as if it was his fault. "Wait," she gasped suddenly, "does this mean that if I picture Malfoy falling off a cliff, he will?"

"Pepper," Leo said warningly. "I'm not sure if it will do that. I'm thinking it's similar to orbing, but I can't be sure. I'll go check with the Elders. You wait here while I'm gone," he said.

Pepper opened her mouth to protest but Leo was gone before any words came from her mouth. "But I don't want to wait here," she whined to the empty room. "I'm going back to Hogwarts, where there are no aunts who can question me." She stood up and raced up the staircase.

Upon entering her room, Pepper grabbed her trunk and backpack. She closed her eyes and pictured the living room once more. The now-familiar sensation of riding a roller coaster overcame her and soon she was opening her eyes, finding herself back downstairs. "Cool," she said, grinning.

Pepper went into the kitchen and jotted down a note to her aunts and uncle, telling them that she was leaving early as she didn't want to get interrogated and that she loved them. She left a post script to her Uncle Leo, telling him she left Cashlinn at home and for him to owl her at Hogwarts telling her about her new power.

With that Pepper entered the living room again. She picked up her bags, squinted her eyes and a minute later she was standing in the middle of the Gryffindor common room facing a baffled Ron and Harry.

"Bloody hell, where'd you come from?" Ron said.

Pepper smiled. "Nice to see you too, Ron." She then turned to Harry. "I disappeared didn't I?" she asked him.

Harry nodded dumbly. "Where were you? How did you get here?" he wondered in a rush.

"I think it's a new power..." Pepper said, looking thoughtful. "See, I was at my house and I was in a tight spot so I pictured the common room in my head and BAM! I was here. Then I imagined my living room and I was back there. Since I wanted to come back here and avoid the wrath of my aunts I grabbed my bags and here I am!" She smiled brightly at the two boys, a little disappointed that they weren't happier to see you. "Aren't you glad to see me? Harry?"

The two seemed to come out of thought and Harry smiled at her. "Sorry, just a bit of a shock to see you appear out of nowhere," Harry apologized. "Actually you sort of materialized...Oh, hey thanks for the broom."

"Yeah, it's wicked!" Ron said. "And thanks for my chess set."

"Oh, no problem," Pepper shrugged.

"Pepper, I don't think you should be spending that much money on me. I mean, that broom is a lot of gold..." Harry said hesitantly.

"Harry Potter, do not tell me what I can and cannot spend me money on. I have so much of it that – wait, I didn't tell you did I...you've got to hear the story of my vault full of jewels." Pepper suddenly remembered something and she reached in her pocket to grab it. She held the up the parchment that she pulled out of her vault. "I'll be back later," she said, racing up the stairs to her dormitory to read the paper.

"Wonder what that's about," Ron said, raising his eyebrows.

"Dunno, but I want to hear about this vault full of jewels," said Harry.

Pepper unfolded the square of parchment carefully, not wanting to rip it in her excitement. It was a letter. Recognizing the handwriting, she pulled her mother's dairy from her pocket and opened it. She compared the handwriting and found that it matched. What was it with her finding things of her parents these days?

Pepper read the letter and blinked in disbelief. She had had a hard time believing her father's explanation for her mother's death but she'd known this far in advance? Pepper felt tears pricking at the corners of her eyes. Not again, she though bitterly.

Getting up from her four-poster she went downstairs, still holding the parchment in front of her face. "Har-ry," she said shakily. "Read this."

Harry took the letter from her and he read it, his eyes narrowing. "She knew she was going to die?" he said.

"Apparently," said Pepper, breathing deeply as she tried to gain control of her emotions. "She could've warned me."

"Hey," Harry said, putting a comforting arm around his girlfriend. He handed the letter to Ron to read.

"Bloody hell," Ron cursed. "Talk about unfair."

"Hey Harry, could you take me on your Moonbeam? I want to see how it rides," Pepper said even more shakily than before.

"Sure, Pep," Harry said comfortingly. He left Pepper and Ron to go upstairs and get his new broomstick.

"Erm, Pepper, if there's anything I can do, just let me know," Ron said uncomfortably.

"Thanks Ron, that's sweet, but it's not like I can fix what I read. So my mom knew when and where she was going to die and she didn't try to prevent it...the damage is done," said Pepper, her bottom lip quivering.

Harry arrived back in the common room and smiled warmly at Pepper before dragging her out of the portrait hole.

"This broom is brilliant Pepper, thanks again," he said as they walked quickly down the seven flights of stairs to the entrance hall.

"Welcome," she said, not wanting to talk much as she was afraid that tears would spill out with her words.

Harry had been hoping he could change the subject from Prue's letter without a struggle, but it appeared this wouldn't be happening. "Pepper, I know you're probably really tired of talking and explaining things, but if you want to talk you know I'm here for you," Harry told her.

Pepper swallowed. "Thanks Harry, that means a lot to me. Next time I talk to you I'll try not to yell," she said, letting herself smile a little.

Harry grabbed Pepper's hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "I know you're going through a lot now Pepper. I know the exact feeling, too." **(A/N: This is getting way too corny and boring for me, so now for some snogging!)**

The pair reached the empty Quidditch field and mounted Harry's Moonbeam Five Hundred. The broom rose steadily into the air, even though the wind was whipping fiercely around them. Harry barely had to touch it to get it to move, and Pepper was having a lot more fun on it than she had been having on Harry's Firebolt. Flying was exactly the thing to take her mind from the letter in the Gringotts vault.

She wrapped her arms tightly around Harry's waist, sighing and leaning her chin on his shoulder. "It's cold!" she said loudly into his ear.

His answer was leaning on the broom handle to make it accelerate. Pepper shivered. Perhaps flying in December might not be such a good idea...

"Have you let Ron have a go yet?" Pepper asked Harry.

He nodded. "I had to now, wait till the rest of the school gets here, they'll all want a go."

"Good thing it was a Christmas gift, then," Pepper said.

"Thanks again, Pepper, this was loads better than the gift I got you."

"I don't know that, you didn't give it to me yet. Can you when we get back to the common room?" Pepper wondered.

"Sure," said Harry.

Pepper's smile was more defined this time. She was glad she was back at Hogwarts and away from her angry aunts. Though she wished she had never read that letter from the vault in Gringotts and had just forgotten about it entirely. But she decided that she wouldn't let it get to her, she'd just forget about it and move on. Like she had said to Ron, the damage was done and there's nothing she could do about it.

"So, you've got to tell me about these jewels you have," Harry yelled through the din the wind was making. "Sounds interesting."

"You have no idea how interesting my break's been," Pepper said somewhat sarcastically. "But I missed you." She kissed his jaw.

"I'm glad you came back early, so we could spend the rest of vacation together; even if you did do it in the strangest way possible," Harry chuckled.

Harry and Pepper entered the common room with cold, red faces and wind whipped clothes to find Ron and Pepper's Uncle Leo sitting by the fireplace. Ron looked confused and Leo looked irked.

"Pepper, I can't believe you just left like that!" Leo said loudly, standing from his armchair.

"Oh dear," Pepper said. "I'm sorry Uncle Leo, I didn't want to face the hormonal wrath of Aunt Piper and Aunt Paige is pissed at me for not believing her...so I thought it would be easier just to come back here." She offered her uncle a weak smile.

"They're worried sick, Pep. Come on, I've got to take you home," Leo said and Pepper sensed some sympathy in his voice.

"Gaah," Pepper groaned. "I don't want to go."

Leo didn't seem to care as he walked over and grabbed Pepper hand. Pepper shrugged and looked helplessly at Harry as Leo orbed her back to the Manor.

"Pepper Halliwell, do you know how much trouble you are in!" Piper fumed as soon as she saw Pepper and Leo arrive in the room. "Running away like that TWICE! We were so worried!"

"This is why I ran away before," Pepper said exasperatedly. "I'm so sick of the yelling, can I just get in a word before you blow up at me?"

Piper and Phoebe looked at her expectantly while Paige seemed to still be miffed at her niece. "Go on," Piper said.

"First off, Uncle Leo, I'd like to know what you found out from the Elders about my new power," said Pepper, turning to face her uncle. From the unchanging expressions of her aunts, Pepper figured her uncle had filled them in on what had happened.

"Your power is called Mirroring," Leo informed her. "When you imagine yourself in a place you are transported there, though it takes almost a minute to get you there. Apparently there are many ways of setting it off and many hidden catches, which you'll have to find out for yourself, of course."

"Of course," Pepper mumbled, slightly dejected. "Well thanks for finding that out, I'm sorry to run away but can I go now?" she asked suddenly, hoping she could catch her family off their guard so they would let her go.

Phoebe raised her eyebrow at her niece and Piper commanded Pepper to sit down. "Please explain why Paige is pissed at you, Pep, as she isn't exactly willing to share..." Phoebe requested. "She said something happened when she went to get you at the house, but she won't tell us anything else."

Pepper looked somewhat perplexedly at her Aunt Paige, who had her arms crossed and wasn't meeting the eyes of anyone. Pepper wondered why Paige wouldn't tell her sisters anything about what had happened at her father's house. She raised an eyebrow in Paige's direction but her aunt didn't catch it, as she was currently staring at her shoes with great interest.

Pepper recalled what had happened for her other two aunts, who were beginning to look at her with shock. Pepper lowered her head in embarrassment – she hadn't realized she had sounded so cocky and unforgiving when she was having her conversation with her Aunt Paige.

"Pepper, I'm surprised at you! You know Paige isn't trying to take the place of Prue," Phoebe said.

"I know. I'm sorry Aunt Paige," Pepper mumbled, trying to make eye contact with her aunt. Paige looked at her and smiled, coming over to give Pepper a hug.

"_Now_ can I go? Please?" Pepper asked. "I really have enjoyed my time with you guys, but I want to spend some of my vacation with Harry since we don't get alone time or anything..." She felt a little embarrassed saying this because if her aunts took it the wrong way it could turn into a situation short of humiliating.

Leo raised an eyebrow at his niece. Phoebe had a smirk on her face and Piper looked a bit surprised. Paige smiled. "Want to show him some of your gifts, do you?" Paige asked.

Pepper felt her cheeks grow hot. "_Nooo_," she said.

"Pepper, you're only sixteen, that's too young to have sex, especially with someone you haven't known for very long," Leo said.

Pepper couldn't tell if they were joking or not. "Erm, I'm going now, so thanks for the lovely Christmas and I'll see you all in six months..." Pepper said, closing her eyes and imagining the Gryffindor common room once again.

She sighed in relief when she opened her eyes and found herself in the place she pictured. "Hey," she greeted Harry and Ron again. "Now that I've got that sorted out, what shall we do?"

"Your presents," Harry remembered, and he and Ron went up to their dorm to grab their Christmas gifts for Pepper.


	23. Chapter 22: Death Eaters

**A/N: ** I'm so sorry it took this long to post!!!!! I feel so bad!

Ahh! Harry Potter/Charmed crossovers are forever ruined by the episode of Charmed where they name Wyatt! They mention Harry Potter in it! In fact, Phoebe recommends naming Wyatt "Potter!" But none of you know that, so it's alright. Oh, wait, you do know because I just told you. Damn.

For those of you who care, the new Harry Potter book is called Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince and the first two lines were in the paper! So I'll put them on here! They are as follows:

"**He looked rather like an old lion. There were streaks of gray in his mane of tawny hair and his bushy eyebrows; he had keen yellowish eyes behind a pair of wire-rimmed spectacles and a certain rangy, loping grace even though he walked with a slight limp."**

Makes you wonder, doesn't it. Who is this mysterious man? Is he the half blood prince? Is it Harry the prince and J.K. Rowling made the title Harry Potter and Harry Potter on purpose? Is this man Godric Gryffindor?! Is Harry related to him? Is this mysterious man a new Order member? Did he know Harry's parents? Is he good or evil? Is he the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher?

I'll stop now, but I can guarantee there will be more questions from me in the next chapter. Hehe. For now, I'll just say thank you to my reviewers.

**charmedsisters:** I made the power up. Hehe, there's my wonderful imagination at work for you. ï

**Now, on with chapter twenty two! Where a lot happens in not so many pages!**

**Chapter Twenty-Two**

As Pepper soon found out when she went down to breakfast alone the next morning, Draco Malfoy was staying at Hogwarts for Christmas vacation without Crabbe and Goyle.

She and her second cousin were the only two in the Great Hall (besides the teachers), and when she finished her breakfast and left, he did too. When Pepper noticed she was being tailed she quickened her pace on the way to the library and behind her she heard Malfoy's footsteps quicken as well.

Arriving in the library, she swiftly picked a random book from the shelf and sat down at a table in the back of the library, hoping Malfoy wouldn't find her there. Pepper wondered why he was tailing her.

With the book in front of her face Pepper didn't see Malfoy place himself regally in the chair across from her.

"Welcome back, Halliwell," he drawled.

Pepper lowered her book slowly, a look of pure malice on her face. She was even less fond of Malfoy now because she knew they were related. Not to mention he was still on her family tree and she was not.

She noticed Malfoy had a defiant smirk on his face – it looked as if he knew something very valuable that he could use to blackmail someone.

"What?" she asked loathingly. She wasn't exactly in the mood to talk to him at the moment, especially because she had studying to do.

"You're not who you seem, are you Halliwell?" said Malfoy.

"What the hell're you talking about, Malfoy?" she asked.

"I know what you are," he said.

"What am I?" she wondered. She had no clue what he was talking about and she wasn't too keen on continuing this conversation.

"A Charmed one," he smirked, talking as if he had just struck gold.

"What's that to you?" she asked, thoroughly annoyed. She didn't think the fact that she was Charmed had anything to do with anything in this magical world. There weren't any demons here...no use for the Power of Three.

"Nothing," he said in the way that Pepper knew it definitely was _something_.

"Leave me alone," said Pepper, putting the book up in front of her face.

"You look like you need a shag," Malfoy said.

Pepper slammed her book down on the table. "Excuse me!" she said in a slightly high-pitched voice, a little louder than was necessary.

"I said 'you look like you need a shag,'" Malfoy repeated, sounding out the syllables as if he was talking to a two year old. "Feel free to come down to the dungeons, I'm always available."

Eyes open wide in shock and repulsion, Pepper stood up, pushing her chair back with her legs. "You have no right to talk to me like that you bastard!" she murmured ferociously.

He stood up as well and walked around the wooden table to face the Gryffindor. "I have a right to do anything I like, which includes talking to you whatever way I want to."

Pepper's eyes were now narrowed in fury, and she reached her hand up and slapped Malfoy across the face. A red mark spread across his face and he held his hand there for a brief moment before returning it to his side. His eyes were full of malice. "Why you filthy little – "

Pepper raised her hand to slap him again but Malfoy was too fast; he grabbed her wrist and twisted her arm, causing her to turn around. He now had Pepper's arm pinned to her back. Before Pepper could get out of his grasp he reached in front of her and grabbed her other arm.

Struggling helplessly, Pepper felt Malfoy bring his head up next to hers, his lips very close to her ear. "I'd advise you not to slap me, Halliwell. It will come back on you ten-fold," he said, his hot breath on her ear. Pepper shivered involuntarily which caused his smirk to deepen.

"Malfoy, I don't know why you've got such an obsession with me but I'd _advise you_ to stop it. And let go of me, while your at it, you ignorant prat," Pepper said through clenched teeth.

"Draco, _there_ you are," Pepper heard a voice not too far away. "I've been looking everywhere for you – what are you doing with her?"

Pepper turned her head as much as she could to look at the speaker. The only problem with this was that her head was on Malfoy's shoulder. She recognized the girl as Ivi Spada, a sixth year Slytherin. **(A/N: Allison, in case you had any doubts, this is YOU! I forgot the name you gave me so I made one up! I know you wanted to be in Ravenclaw but I can work you into the evil plot this way!)**

"Like I said, ten-fold, Halliwell. Just a warning to you," Malfoy sneered into Pepper's ear before releasing her. He raised his eyebrows at her for a second before turning to head out of the library, Ivi at his side.

Her face burning with anger and annoyance, Pepper froze the room without even thinking. She then walked quickly around to the front of Malfoy and pulled down his pants without a second thought; revealing his deep green boxers to the rest of the frozen library.

"How stereotypical, Slytherin green boxers," she tutted before turning around and strutting out of the library, unfreezing the room behind her as she left.

Once Malfoy was frozen out of his mid-step pose, he tripped on his pants and fell face first onto the hard library floor. Ivi stifled her laughter as she helped her lover up from the floor.

As he hiked his pants up, his cheeks pink with embarrassment, he took a deep, shuddering breath as if he was trying to stop himself from killing something. "Ivi, I need you to do something for me. Sadie might be able to help as well." **(A/N: Hannah, this is you. I know you wanted to be in Ravenclaw as well, but again, you're in the evil plot this way.) **

Pepper was smiling to herself on the way back up to Gryffindor Tower. She had the upper hand on Malfoy now; there was no doubt about that. She only wished there had been a crowd in the library to see his lovely boxers instead of just Ivi, who (Pepper was sure) had seen them many times already.

When she returned to the Gryffindor common room she found Harry and Ron sitting on the floor by the fire playing a game of Wizard's Chess. "Hey, why weren't you guys at breakfast?" she said brightly, her glee of defeating Malfoy apparent on her face.

"Slept in," Ron said. "What're you so cheerful about?"

"Oh nothing," Pepper smiled, plopping herself down next to Harry, who was loosing very badly to Ron.

"So Ron, this chess set serving you well?" Pepper asked, making Harry's next move for him. Harry pushed her away playfully and she retaliated by kissing him on the cheek.

Ron rolled his eyes before responding. "Yeah, I'm kicking Harry's butt even more than usual."

"Hey!" Harry said indignantly.

"I'm just telling her the truth, mate," Ron chuckled.

"So is Hermione due back tomorrow?" Pepper asked, making another move for Harry. He didn't protest this time.

"Yep," said Ron happily.

"And the new term starts when?" Pepper inquired as Ron took one of Harry's pawns.

"Day after tomorrow," Harry told her. He moved over so Pepper could have free reign of the chess game. "Ron, are you still going through with your plan?"

Pepper gave Ron an inquiring look. "What plan? I wasn't aware you had a plan to do something...what is it?" she pushed.

"Ron may not want to tell you, Pep. I think it was supposed to be a surprise before I opened my big mouth," said Harry.

"I want to know the plan," Pepper insisted.

"You have to swear not to tell Hermione," Ron said.

Pepper nodded fervently. "I swear. Ooh, you weren't planning on ditching her, were you? I don't think she'd like that very much."

Ron shook his head in disbelief. "Honestly Pepper, sometimes you can be so dim," he said, smiling.

Pepper let out a "Hey," much like Harry had. "O-o-oh, you're planning on _asking her out_ then, are you?" She raised an eyebrow, impressed.

Ron's face went pink and the tips of his ears grew red.

"You are!" Pepper exclaimed. She clasped her hands together and did a sort of happy-dance by moving her shoulders around and humming a merry tune.

"You won't tell Hermione," Ron ordered.

"Nope, I swear on my life," Pepper nodded. "Well, I've got some homework to do, so I'll be going. Have a nice rest of the game." With that she ran up to her dormitory to celebrate the upper hand on Malfoy (but what did he mean by she needed a shag?) and the fact that Ron and Hermione were about to officially become a couple. Once Hermione arrived back at school, of course.

"Pepper! Come down here! Quick!"

Pepper's head snapped towards the door from her bed, where she was doing her homework. Registering in her brain that she was being called down to the common room, she bounded off of her bed and raced down to the common room.

"What's – " she began to ask, but faltered when she saw Dumbledore's head in the fireplace. "Oh, okay...what is it Professor?"

"I need to speak to you three in my office immediately about a matter of utmost importance. The password is 'Ice Mice,'" said Dumbledore's head before it disappeared from the fire.

"Let's go," Harry said.

The trio raced out of the hallway and flew through the corridors. They wanted to get there as quickly as possible, as Dumbledore sounded quite urgent.

"Where are you three going so quickly?" came a silky voice. They stopped suddenly and whipped there heads around to find Professor Snape striding towards them. "Running in the corridors is against the rules, as I'm sure you know," he said. "I think that's ten points from Gryffindor..."

"But Professor Snape, sir," Pepper panted, not wanting to lose points, "Professor Dumbledore said he wished to see us immediately, and that it was important."

"I am sure he didn't mean to run through the halls to see him," sneered Snape. "As I said before: ten points from Gryffindor. You should think about that before running next time." He left with a smirk.

Pepper narrowed her eyes at his retreating back. "Darn him."

The rest of the way they walked as fast as possible. Arriving at the statue, they muttered the password and sprinted up the staircase. As soon as they knocked on the door they were admitted into the office.

Dumbledore was sitting at his desk, looking quite grave. In a chair beside him was Professor McGonagall was sitting next to him. Her eyes were red and her face looked less fierce – as if she had been crying.

"Please have a seat," Dumbledore said, gesturing to the chairs in front of his desk.

"What's wrong, sir?" Harry asked a look of concern on his face.

McGonagall looked over at Dumbledore. Her look wasn't returned, however, as Dumbledore had his eyes on the three students. He looked somber, and before he even opened his mouth to speak, Harry, Ron and Pepper knew it wasn't good news.

"There has been a Death Eater attack earlier this morning," he said, "It appears they destroyed all of a small town just outside of Little Whinging. They killed Muggles and wizards alike, only leaving a few survivors, from my understanding. What you may not be aware of is the fact that Miss Granger lives in that town. My sources tell me that she is alive, but her parents were killed in the attack."

Pepper gasped and clapped a hand to her mouth; Harry almost fell off of his chair and Ron stood up abruptly. "The Grangers are...dead?" said Ron, his eyes as wide as saucers. "Are you sure Hermione is all right?"

"Yes, I am sure, Mr. Weasley," Dumbledore assured Ron.

"Where is she? Is she coming back here? Is she injured?" Pepper asked. "If you tell me where she is I can get to her..."

"Miss Halliwell, please calm down. I assure you, Miss Granger, physically, is perfectly fine. She is coming back to Hogwarts tomorrow, as planned, with the other students. I'm sure she will need her friends when she returns, so I expect you three to be there for her as much as possible," Dumbledore said. "You may go, but be wary, as Voldemort is clearly out of hiding now. Good day."

The three distraught Gryffindors headed out of Dumbledore's office. They all had tears brimming in their eyes.

"Hermione's parents are dead..." Harry muttered.

"Oh my god," was all Pepper could say.

"Guess that ruins my plans for tomorrow," said Ron.

"I can't believe it. Poor Hermione," Harry said.

"Oh, Harry! There you are!"

The three of them whirled around to see Ivi Spada gliding towards them. "What do you want?" Ron asked maliciously.

"Nothing from you," Ivi said icily to Ron. "Though I think Sadie was looking for you. _Oh_, you're back," she said even more icily to Pepper. "I guess that means _we_ won't be having any more fun then, Harry? Because I really enjoyed our night together while Halliwell was gone."

**A/N: DUN DUN DUN! **

**I'll try to get the next chapter up soon, but I can't make any promises because I'm running out of ideas....I'M OPEN FOR ANY IDEAS ANYONE HAS! hint hint nudge nudge **


	24. Chapter 23: Bye Harry, Helloooo Malfoy

**A/N: Woohoo! I'm posting again! And my friend Lexi may have a snogging partner when I don't have one! Do you know how SAD that makes me? Anyway, thank you to charmedsisters for the Truth Spell and thanks everyone else for your reviews! As you may have noticed, this chapter officially makes my story rated R, which is sort of sad...proves how in need of a boyfriend I am. Oh well, for now I'll just have to pour out my horny mind onto the computer. Enjoy! ï**

**Chapter Twenty-Three**

Ivi advanced on Harry, as if to kiss him.

Once again, Ron's eyes were as wide as saucers. Pepper's eyes mirrored Ron's as she stared in disbelief at the sight before her.

Harry stepped back. He had no idea what Spada was going on about, and he wasn't sure that he cared to know. She kept advancing towards him, a flirtatious smile on her lips. "Look, Spada, I have no idea what you're talking about so –"

"Of course you do. Or maybe you don't have any idea because _she's _back. How could you forget what happened the other night; I know you had fun." Ivi winked at him.

"Cennan, what the HELL is she talking about?" Pepper spat angrily, putting her hands on her hips. **(A/N: "Cennan" is "Potter" in Elvish, by the way.) **

"I don't _know_ Pepper," Harry replied, pushing Ivi away from him.

"Well then I suggest she gets the hell out of here," Pepper said, drawing her wand.

"Not until I get a good bye kiss from Harry..." Ivi said, raising a well plucked eyebrow as she leaned in toward Harry's face. The next thing Harry knew he had lips pressed up against his, and his hormones told him to kiss her back. He resisted as much as he could but the kiss was long enough for Pepper to throw her hands in the air in anger and let out a frustrated yell.

Ron was torn between amusement and shock.

"You know what? Fine! I don't care! I thought it was time for a break anyway!" Pepper yelled. "Just forget about Hermione and forget about ME and go screw Slytherins! See if I care!" Fuming, Pepper stormed off.

Ivi pulled her mouth from Harry's. A satisfied smirk was adorning her lips.

Harry glared at her before hurrying after Pepper, Ron at his heels.

Ivi watched them leave. "Won't Draco be pleased. All he's got to do is interject the poor wittle crying Gryffindor. I better get rewarded for this...now I wonder where Sadie is..."

"You didn't shag her, right?" Ron asked Harry as they dashed through corridors looking for Pepper.

"No!" Harry replied resentfully, "Did you actually believe her? I'm not that easy, Ron."

"Sorry, mate. But the way you were kissing her _was_ sort of supporting her story."

"I was NOT kissing her!" said Harry.

"Whatever you say."

"Where'd Pepper go? I thought we were right behind her! She's gotta know that I didn't shag Spada..."

"She's got that new power thing, remember?" Ron reminded his friend.

"Oh yea. Bloody hell, are we ever going to find her?"

Pepper had Mirrored from the hallway Ron and Harry were currently standing in down to the dungeons. She wasn't sure why she'd chosen the dungeons, but she figured this would be the last place Harry and Ron would look.

She stopped walking and slid down the wall to sit down on the hard stone. She brought her forehead to her knees and sighed shakily. "How could he? Did he think I wouldn't find out?" she mumbled to herself. "Did Ron know? Why didn't he tell me? Harry could have just broken up with me. He didn't have to cheat on me – and with a Slytherin, no less." She drew in another shaky breath.

"Well well well, what do we have here?"

Pepper didn't even bother to raise her head as she felt someone sit next to her. "Leave me alone Malfoy," she said.

"You shouldn't be down here, you know. The dungeons at this time of day aren't exactly safe for a good little Gryffindor. You never know who will happen upon an innocent little girl..." Malfoy drawled.

"Just leave me alone," Pepper moaned. She didn't want Malfoy to decide to take his revenge on her at this moment. She thought he'd still be mad about what happened this morning, but she wanted him to get revenge at a time when she wasn't feeling so down. Too many thoughts were flying through her mind at the moment to process much of anything so she wouldn't be able to retaliate if Malfoy did something.

"What's wrong, Halliwell?" Malfoy asked, his tone softer.

Pepper wasn't aware of his sudden tone change, as her emotions were impaired at the moment. "Everything," she responded. "Everything's wrong. My friends, my family, my boyfriend, everything."

Malfoy put a comforting arm across her back. This gesture made Pepper raise her head. "What are you doing?" she asked.

"You're crying," he noted, evading her question. He wiped a tear from her face with the pad of his thumb.

Pepper studied his expression. He looked truly concerned about her welfare. What is he up to? Pepper wondered.

"Why don't you tell me what happened?" he asked softly. His voice sounded as if he was truly concerned.

That question sounded so comforting to Pepper, and it made her feel so safe that she found her tongue become very loose. She began telling Malfoy everything, from Hermione being mad at her, to her cutting herself, to keeping the kiss between them from her friends to Hermione's parents to the recent, heart-wrenching break up with Harry.

Malfoy made all the right facial expressions at all the right times and he rubbed Pepper's back reassuringly when she was having trouble continuing. At the end of her explanation they stared at each other for a moment: Pepper's eyes glassy and full of emotion and Malfoy's showing great compassion.

After a few seconds, Malfoy leaned in and captured Pepper's lips in a sweet, slow kiss. She responded willingly and they sat there for a while before the kisses became more intense and passionate. Malfoy helped Pepper to her feet – their lips still locked – and he backed her up against the cold, stone wall. Her arms were wrapped around his neck and his arms were around her waist.

His lips traveled down to her neck and she raised her chin, giving him more access to her skin. Pepper's breathing was growing heavier and more rapid and she wrapped one of her legs around the back of Malfoy's.

Taking that as a hint, Malfoy lifted Pepper off of her feet and carried her to the entrance to the Slytherin common room. She was distracted, (as she was busy kissing his neck now), when he said the password and they entered the green-lit room.

Pepper wasn't aware of the fact that Malfoy was taking her to his dormitory until he placed her on the silver bedspread. She didn't really care much though, as they continued their heated kissing. She ran hand through his hair, smiled, and pulled out of the kiss for a moment, glancing up at his mussed up hair.

"Told you your hair would look much sexier without the gel," she murmured before he captured her lips once more.

"Where is she? We've looked everywhere!" Harry said, frustrated. He and Ron had been searching for Pepper for almost two hours, and they hadn't had any luck in finding her.

"Everywhere but back in Gryffindor Tower," said Ron. "Maybe she went back there right away, thinking that we would look there last."

"I want her to know that I didn't cheat on her. Why doesn't she at least want to talk to me?" Harry wondered angrily.

"Ah, the ways of women," Ron mused.

Harry suddenly stopped in his tracks. "I feel so selfish. I should be thinking about Hermione, not about Pepper and Spada," he said. "Pepper's probably been in her dormitory writing a letter to Hermione or making a gift for her or something. She's probably being the thoughtful friend, which is what we should have been doing for the past two hours. Sorry Ron."

"S'all right, I've been thinking about Hermione this whole time anyway...so I s'pose that makes two thoughtful friends and one selfish one," Ron joked. "So it's back to the common room then? To devise a plan for tomorrow and for some well deserved rest?"

"That sounds good to me. Oh, I can't believe I didn't think of it before! Ron, we could look at the Marauders Map to see where Pepper is. Why am I so dim?"

"Surprised we didn't think of it. But then, your mind was too clouded with your kiss from Spada, I'm sure..." Ron wiggled his eyebrows up and down suggestively, earning a light punch in the arm from Harry.

"Shut up," said Harry, blushing as he recalled the aforementioned kiss. He had to admit, the kiss had been quite nice...

"Pepper we should stop," Malfoy panted, rolling of off the girl.

"Why?" Pepper asked, frowning as she flung her arm across Malfoy's bare chest. "I was having so much fun..." She kissed his flushed cheek.

"You're a virgin, and I'm not one for deflowering virgins. Especially Gryffindors ...this just doesn't feel right."

"I've never heard of the Slytherin Sex god saying no to sex. Or is this just a hard to get thing or something? I mean, come on, we're already naked..."

"I think you need another glass of Firewhisky," he said, reaching over to pick up the slender necked, half empty bottle.

"Only if you'll have one with me," she said teasingly, sitting up and rubbing her eyes. She accepted the glass handed to her and downed it in one gulp. The first glass had left a very distinct burning sensation in her throat, but after this one, her third glass, the sensation wasn't nearly as defined and she was getting more light-headed by the minute.

"Weren't you having fun with me, Draco?" she asked with some difficulty, as the whisky was threatening to slur her words if she didn't define her syllables.

"Of course I was," Malfoy replied, putting his still-full glass of Firewhisky down on the table to pull Pepper in for a sensuous kiss.

She giggled in pleasure before lying back down on the plush feather pillows. She closed her eyes as he kissed her. If only we were lying on a beach somewhere, she thought blissfully. A tropical beach with white sands and palm trees...

Pepper felt as if her stomach was being left behind and she opened her eyes to the sound of cawing birds. "Oh hell."

Draco removed his mouth from Pepper's collarbone as he felt a warm breeze blow across his back. Sitting up, he found himself on a beach, the ocean waves licking the bottom of the bedspread he and Pepper were wrapped up in.

"Where the fuck are we?" he asked confusedly.

"A beach," Pepper gulped. She hadn't meant to imagine her and Draco on a beach together practically having sex, she just thought the thought was nice.

"How'd we get to a beach?" Draco asked, sounding slightly irked. He glanced around apprehensively; checking to make sure the beach was deserted. Once he saw that no one was in sight he relaxed slightly. Pepper was sitting next to him, mostly covered by the king-sized cover and looking uneasy.

"I dunno," she replied, chewing on her bottom lip. Now that she thought about it, the sand did feel quite nice, and the gentle breeze was calming...she could stay here. "But it is quite romantic here..." she smiled seductively at Draco.

"How do we get out of here?" he wondered aloud, running his fingers through his now-messy hair and ignoring Pepper's previous comment.

"If you kiss me again?" Pepper suggested.

"I'm telling you Ron, she's not on here," Harry said, distressed.

"Shove over and let me see," said Ron, shoving Harry aside and pouring over the Marauders Map himself.

"Like I said: not there," Harry repeated, sighing and leaning onto the back of the couch. "So unless there's some part of the castle that the Marauders didn't know about then she's off school grounds. She could be in Hogsmede or she could be somewhere else entirely...I don't know how she'd get someplace else though. Unless she found a way to use her new power to go get Hermione some way. I don't know how she would have found Hermione, though. Dumbledore didn't say where she was..."

"Knowing Pepper, she probably found a way to meet Hermione." There was a pause where Ron rubbed the back of his neck and then gasped and pointed to a place on the map.

Harry averted his eyes to the map, and his gaze wandered to where Ron was pointing. It looked as if two dots had just shown up on the map, completely out of the blue. They were two dots that hadn't been there just a second ago when he and Ron were looking over the parchment.

"That can't be possible," Harry mumbled, blinking to make sure his eyes weren't deceiving him. The two dots read "Pepper Halliwell-Black" and "Draco Malfoy" and they were in very close proximity to each other. Their proximity was so close, in fact, that it made Harry squirm in his seat.

"The dots are practically on top of each other..." Ron remarked, squinting at the map. He, too, wanted to make sure his eyes were not deceiving him.

"We've got to get down there," said Harry heatedly. "Make sure they're not..." He shook his head in disgust. "I don't even want to think about it. Let's just go."

"Harry, they're in the Slytherin common room, we'll never be able to get in there. Besides, it's almost three in the morning and I'm tired. I'm sure even if they are..." Ron shook his head as well, trying to rid his mind of the mental picture that was forming there. "Pepper wouldn't want us barging in on it. Not that we could or I'd want to, mind you. I think we should just go to bed and deal with it in the morning. I'm sure the map's wrong, anyway, and that's not really Pepper."

"But Ron, she could be down there...shagging Malfoy," Harry cringed, as did Ron. They were both horrified at that thought.

"Harry, you know I can't function well if I don't have sleep or I don't have food. At the moment, I don't have either, so I'm turning in. We can deal with it in the morning when we're both well rested and our eyes aren't playing tricks on us. G'night." Ron yawned and got up, dragging his feet up the stone stairs to his dormitory.

After Ron left, Harry returned his eyes to the map and glared at it until he was sure he was going to burn a hole in it with his gaze.

He folded the map quickly and carried it up to his dormitory with him. Quietly grabbing his Invisibility Cloak from his trunk, he tiptoed back down to the common room and out of the portrait. He wasn't going to leave this till morning – he couldn't. He needed to find out if Malfoy and his recent ex Pepper were really in bed together. And in the Slytherin common room, no less.

He hurried through the dark corridors as noiselessly as possible, dodging teachers on late night patrol. Harry didn't have time to wonder why there were teachers among the corridors at such a late hour, as he was nearing his destination. He strained his memory to try and recall the route to the Slytherin common room as he entered the dungeons, but it was to no avail. He hadn't been there since his second year, and then he was too busy concentrating on a way to get Malfoy to admit he was the Heir of Slytherin and it was he who was opening the Chamber of Secrets. Harry wanted to kick himself for not remembering how to get to the Slytherin common room.

He searched for a while before giving up from frustration and fatigue. Slumping down on the floor he put his head on his knees and drifted off to sleep.

Pepper awoke with a splitting headache. She rolled over and found that she was lying next to Malfoy. Eyes open wide; she discovered that she was naked. Putting two and two together she devised that she and Malfoy had just had sex. She let out a very high pitched gasp of panic, causing her head to throb in pain and Malfoy to stir.

She sat up abruptly as he opened his eyes. He smirked at her amusedly. Realizing that the bedcovers were around her waist she pulled them up and stuttered, "Why the hell am I here?"

"Don't you remember our lovely little rendezvous last night, Halliwell?" Malfoy drawled, sitting up as well.

Trying not to get distracted by Malfoy's bare chest, Pepper shook her head "no," which she found out was a mistake. She clutched her head in pain, causing the covers once again to slide down to her waist. She pulled them back up again.

"I've seen everything anyway," Malfoy drawled. "No need to cover yourself now. From what I recall, you ripped off all your clothing last night. Now you want your clothes back, I suppose." He sounded highly amused and Pepper glared at him.

"I did not," she retorted. She desperately tried to remember what exactly had happened last night. Her brain only came up with one image. "You listened to what I had to say..." she said, tilting her head slightly to the side and staring at him as if she'd just seen him for the first time. "Then you brought me here and we..." she couldn't remember much after that.

"You need some Hangover Potion," he advised, swinging his legs over the bed and climbing out of it.

Pepper closed her eyes so she wouldn't see anything more, though her brain told her open her eyes. He was, after all, the Slytherin Sex god and most girls would die to be in the situation Pepper was in now. By the time she opened her eyes again he was gone, into the bathroom she suspected.

Suddenly, a wave of nausea hit her and she apprehended that _she _needed to get into the bathroom.

Grabbing the sheet and wrenching it off the bed she messily wrapped it around her and tripped and stumbled her way to the bathroom. Malfoy didn't even give her a second glance as she raced to the toilet and emptied the contents of her stomach. Groaning, she stood up, which caused her head to spin. Her footsteps faltered from her dizzy spell and Malfoy caught her before she hit the floor. She had a feeling he was used to dealing with this kind of thing. That thought pissed her off.

"Here, drink this," he ordered, shoving a bottle full of a thick blue liquid into her hand. It was already uncorked, so she downed it somewhat hesitantly; the potion freezing her throat as it slid down.

Instantly, her headache and nausea disappeared. "Thanks," she said quietly. She wanted to get out of here as fast as she could. She needed to think about what had happened, and if she'd really had sex with Malfoy willingly, as he said she did. "I've got to go," she tried, hoping he'd let her go without a fight.

He shrugged nonchalantly. "I know," he said. "You can get changed in my room, I'll stay in here."

She exited the bathroom and closed the door behind her as she entered his dormitory. Gathering her clothes and getting dressed, she wondered why Malfoy seemed to be the only occupant of the dormitory.

Hoping no other Slytherins had stayed over for Christmas, Pepper hurried out of the common room and tried to look casual as she strolled through the hallways. Turning a corner, she tripped on something and fell – hard – onto the floor.

Harry woke up to someone tripping over him. The Invisibility Cloak slid off of him and he saw Pepper getting up from the floor. She glared at him but didn't acknowledge him, even when she accepted his hand to help her up.

"I know you were shagging Malfoy," he said plainly, trying not to let any emotion show in his voice.

"I was not," she said, her face burning. "Besides, I'm not talking to you, Harry Potter. You cheated on me and I...well, you cheated on me. We're completely and officially broken up and that's that." Sticking her chin in the air she turned around and walked swiftly away, Harry in tow.

"So you did shag Malfoy then," said Harry from behind Pepper.

She turned abruptly to face him. "I've come to a mutual agreement that we're done as a couple Harry."

"You can't come to a mutual agreement on your own, Pepper," Harry pointed out. He was beginning to have trouble keeping his temper in check.

Pepper looked a little flustered at this comment. "Yea...well...I'm not talking to you, so leave me alone!" And, remembering her new power, Pepper Mirrored from the dungeons, leaving Harry alone to let out a very frustrated yell that echoed through the empty corridor.

**A/N: Dundundun! So what happened? Did Pepper and Malfoy really do it? More importantly, did they use protection? We don't know! And we might never! Bwahahaha! Well, actually we will. Remember to review! You know you want to...**


	25. Chapter 24: Where More Bad Stuff Happens

**A/N: **Thank you reviewers! I love you guys! Kirsten, if you wanna be in it I'm gonna need your name and house and such things...

Just out of curiosity, I'm wondering where all you reviewer people live...like England or USA or Scotland or where! So could you tell me, I want to know where my reviewers are...I'm not really sure why.

Okay, this is chapter twenty four! Woo hoo! I'm not sure when I'll get the next chapter up, I'm in a TV Club at school and it's gonna keep me really busy, so please bear with me!

**Chapter Twenty-Four**

"Hermione!" Pepper cried sympathetically as her friend entered the grand double doors into the Entrance Hall. She rushed towards Hermione and gave her a tight hug.

"How are you?" Pepper asked, pulling back to look at the disheveled Hermione. She had dark circles under her eyes, which were red and puffy as if she had been crying a lot. It appeared she hadn't slept in days.

"I've been better," Hermione replied with a tight-lipped smile. "Where are Harry and Ron?" She glanced around the hall full of people for her friends.

Pepper glanced compassionately at Hermione. It seemed as though she was having a hard time just living...Pepper knew how she felt. She knew _exactly_ how it felt to loose your parents at such an old age – especially to evil.

"They're upstairs in the common room, come on let's go," Pepper said. She and Hermione started the long trek upwards to Gryffindor Tower; Pepper trying to make conversation a few times but not knowing how to approach the subject of Hermione's vacation.

"So...er...I'm sorry Hermione," Pepper finally decided on saying. "I know you're probably miffed Ron, Harry and I didn't visit you sooner but – "

"Pepper. Please. Don't," Hermione said evenly. It was obvious she was trying not to cry.

"Sorry," Pepper said, looking at the floor.

The pair were silent the rest of the way.

The common room was full of friends greeting each other and talking about how their holidays were. Harry and Ron spotted the two girls as they entered, and they both rushed over to Hermione to give her a hug. Ron kissed Hermione on the cheek and looked into her eyes.

"How are you?" he asked, smiling softly to try and get her expression to soften.

"Just great," she answered in a high-pitched, slightly sarcastic tone. Her face stayed set and she stared at a spot just above Ron's shoulder.

"'Mione, why don't we go up to the dormitory...you can unpack...maybe take a nap...I'm sure you have train-lag," said Pepper.

Ron shot Pepper a look behind Hermione's back that said he wanted to talk to Hermione, but Pepper retaliated with a glare that told him she could handle it. Reluctantly, Ron nodded in agreement with Pepper, who led a zombie-like Hermione upstairs to the girls' dorm room.

Hermione sat down heavily on her bed and made to close the curtains, but Pepper stopped her and sat on Hermione's bed. "It's better to talk about it," Pepper advised, setting a comforting hand on Hermione's knee.

Hermione just stared straight ahead, her eyes very puffy and red and her mouth in a straight line, which reminded Pepper slightly of Professor McGonagall. She would have pointed that out to Hermione if her friend was currently speaking...

Hermione was quiet for a long time and Pepper tried not to move, in case she disturbed Hermione's thought process. Finally Hermione spoke. "We've got to do something, Pepper," she said, her voice almost pleading.

"About what?" Pepper asked quietly.

"I was at a friend's house for the day and when I returned home there were Death Eaters everywhere..." Hermione's lip quivered and her eyes were glazing over. "I realized my wand was in my room in the house, but I couldn't even get near my house. So many Death Eaters...I had to hide in the woods...but one of them saw me so I ran before they could get the others. I was so lucky to get away..." Tears threatened to burst forth from Hermione's eyes, Pepper saw; but Hermione sniffed and blinked purposefully so she wouldn't let the tears fall. "It was all such a blur...I prayed my parents had gone shopping or something, but they hadn't. Neither had most of the neighborhood...So we've got to do something, Pepper, we've got to. Those Death Eaters have got to die. I won't rest until they do."

"I understand, Hermione, I really do," Pepper told her friend. "I'll do whatever I can to help, I swear."

"Thanks Pepper...but enough heavy stuff, how was your holiday?" Hermione asked, trying to sound brighter as she wiped furiously at her eyes.

"Hermione, I have a rather odd question for you," Pepper said, knowing Hermione wanted a change in subject and that they'd probably talk more in-depth later.

Hermione looked at Pepper expectantly. "Yes?" she promoted.

"You like Ron, right?" Pepper said.

Hermione nodded, a small smile trying to make its way across her face.

"Well, would you ever cheat on him?" asked Pepper.

Hermione hadn't exactly expected this question but she answered in the negative, wondering what the heck Pepper was getting at.

"Are you sure you wouldn't?" Pepper persisted.

"Yes," Hermione said solidly.

"Well let's say – hypothetically – that you were really upset about something so you were running away from your two hypothetical friends. You ended up in the dungeons and you were crying, so your hypothetical enemy appeared and comforted you and then...you two had a hypothetical snogging session. That resulted in your hypothetical enemy taking you off to his dorm...remember – hypothetically – your senses are very impaired, so then you two ended up...er...naked...and you have hypothetical sex," Pepper said very quickly. "Then would you cheat on him?"

"Pepper," Hermione said slowly, "Tell me you did NOT sleep with Malfoy."

"Alright, I didn't sleep with Malfoy," Pepper said guiltily.

Hermione's jaw dropped. Neither of them spoke for a few seconds. Pepper feared the yelling she was about to receive from Hermione, and she also feared that Hermione's jaw was going to be stuck like that forever.

"How was it?" Hermione whispered suddenly, as if she was afraid someone would overhear her.

Pepper couldn't help it – she burst out into laughter. "Why?" she wondered when her laughter subsided.

"I was just wondering," Hermione said, blushing. "_So_," she continued after a short pause, "_was it good?_"

"I don't _know_," said Pepper. "I can't remember it, I was drunk!"

"You were WHAT?" exclaimed Hermione. "Why did you get drunk? What did you drink? Did he force it into you?"

"Hermione, calm down! I'm not really sure how it happened...we just started drinking and drinking...then I was drunk and I can't remember a thing about he actual sex part of the night," Pepper explained. She was a little disappointed that she didn't remember anything about the actual sex act – as she had heard great things about the skills of Draco Malfoy.

"Then how do you know you actually had sex?" Hermione asked.

"Well...I ache...he said we did...we were naked...it feels like we did, if you know what I mean..."

"Too much information," Hermione said, looking slightly disgusted. "Pepper, do you realize that you just shagged your second cousin? Did you use a contraceptive spell or anything?"

"Shit and shit," Pepper said, getting worried now. She couldn't get pregnant! Especially with her second cousin...She really hoped they had used some from of protection. "Oh dear, I'll probably have to talk to him about it now, won't I?" Pepper thought aloud, sounding downtrodden.

"Probably...Pepper this is bad, don't you think? Your second cousin just took your virginity and you're not even sure if you used something to prevent your pregnancy. And the fact that you cheated on Harry," said Hermione. "Wait – what were you so upset about, anyway?"

"Oh...I didn't tell you did I...I thought Ron might've told you or something... Harry cheated on me for that Slytherin: Ivi Spada," said Pepper softly. She still couldn't believe that Harry had actually done that to her. "So really I didn't cheat on him, because we were already broken up."

Hermione's jaw dropped for a second time. "You can't be serious," Hermione said. When she saw that Pepper's expression was very serious, she said, "Are you sure he slept with her?"

"You should have seen the way she came up to him and talked to him...told him what a great time she had had the other night. She gave me the coldest look I've ever seen a person give...She just walked right up and kissed him and he kissed her back..." Pepper explained with some difficulty, as she was getting choked up at the memory.

"That would explain why you and Harry weren't speaking to each other, wouldn't it?" said Hermione. "Well, I think you should talk to him to find out what really happened."

"I think I know what really happened," Pepper said frigidly. "Right now I'd like to dwell on the fact that I just had sex with my second cousin and I could be pregnant." The fact that Hermione's parents had just died had slipped from Pepper's mind, as she was only concerned about herself at the moment.

"Well I'll go talk to him then," said Hermione, a little angry at Pepper for being so self centered, especially when her best friend needed someone to comfort her at the moment.

Hermione got out of her bed and almost made it to the door to exit the dorm when Pepper said, "Oh, honey, I'm sorry. I really shouldn't be thinking about myself at the moment..." Pepper stood up to cut Hermione off from leaving. "You look like you haven't slept in days, Hermione; you've got to lie down."

Begrudgingly, Hermione turned around and got back onto her bed. "Now you stay here and I can go get some Sleeping Draught from Madame Pomfrey if you'd like," said Pepper.

"Thanks," Hermione mumbled, obviously still a little miffed at Pepper.

Pepper smiled at Hermione and left the room, saying a locking charm on the door behind her. She managed to slip out of the common room without seeing Harry or Ron, so she headed to the Hospital Wing to retrieve some Sleeping Draught for Hermione so she could get some sleep. She just hoped Madame Pomfrey would hand some over willingly instead of making Pepper bring Hermione all the way down to the Hospital Wing just to get some sleep.

"Well if it isn't Halliwell," a drawling voice said as Malfoy stepped out of the Defense Against the Dark Arts room on the third floor. Pepper almost ran headlong into him in her hurry to the Hospital Wing. She blushed crimson immediately when she realized who it was.

"Get out of my way, Malfoy," she said, looking at the floor so he wouldn't see her burning cheeks. She tried to push past him but he grabbed her arm, which sent a shiver that she had not expected through her body. The memory of his bare skin on hers jumped to her mind and she felt her face grow even hotter.

"I know there must be something you wanted to ask me," he said, not letting go of her arm. "I won't tell anyone, you know," he added, leading Pepper back into the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. Pepper was afraid the Professor Ardel would be in his classroom, but the room was deserted. Malfoy pulled her in and shut the door.

"And I have a few questions of my own, Halliwell," Malfoy said lazily, leaning up against the door so Pepper could not escape.

She looked up at him, a fire in her eyes. "I'm so not in the mood for this right now, Malfoy," she told him. "I was my way to the Hospital Wing to get something for Hermione, who really needs a friend at the moment. So if you'll kindly get out of my way..."

"Ah, yes, poor Hermione," Malfoy said, feigning concern. "Poor, Mudblood Hermione who recently lost her parents in a Death Eater attack..." He wiped a fake tear from his eye.

In a flash, Pepper's wand was out and she was pointing it his face. "Move out of the bloody way or I swear I will hex you into tiny little pieces," Pepper warned.

"Didn't I tell you I have some questions to ask you," Malfoy smirked, grabbing Pepper's wand arm before she could think twice. Soon, he had both of her wrists, reminding Pepper slightly of the position they had been in yesterday in the library. He twisted her left wrist, making her wand drop to the floor.

"Now, I'd like to know how the hell we got from my dormitory to a beach," he said, his voice demanding an answer.

Pepper just raised her eyebrow at him. "What are you talking about?" she asked, though she knew exactly what he meant. She didn't want to draw any suspicion to herself that she was the one who caused that. She just wanted to make him think he had been drunk and imagined it.

"You know perfectly well what I'm talking about," said Malfoy.

"I'm afraid I don't," Pepper replied, standing firm. She would not give in to him, even if his lips were very distracting...

Seeing her weakness, his own eyes flickered to Pepper's lips. "Let me go Malfoy," Pepper said through tight teeth, not liking this game at all. Their contact was making Pepper very uncomfortable and she didn't want him to notice.

"Not until I get an answer to my question," Malfoy said, his eyes boring into Pepper's. Pepper stared right back, refusing to be the first to break eye contact. This was a stare down and she knew that the first person to break their eyes away would be the first to break down. She refused to let Malfoy get the best of her.

"Let go of me," Pepper repeated in what she hoped to be a firmer voice. Her temper was starting to run away and she was afraid of what she might do if it did. She would just have to try her best not to imagine anything...like herself pushing Malfoy over a cliff...

"You have a question for me, don't you Halliwell?" Malfoy asked expectantly. "Perhaps something about our tryst last night?"

"It was not a damn "tryst," as you so fondly call it," Pepper replied. "I had no intention whatsoever of sleeping with you. Or maybe I didn't do it willingly...and you forced me..." said Pepper, this thought filling her head for the first time. Yes, maybe he had raped her...that would explain why she did it.

"I didn't need to do that," Malfoy said cockily. "Not that I'd want to in the first place. I have plenty of women fighting to shag me anyway. You weren't any different."

For some reason, unknown to Pepper, his statement hurt her. Then something dawned on her. "I bet you did..." she said, as if he hadn't said anything. "You told me in the library that I, quote, "needed a shag," and then you did it." She glowered at him. "You filthy bastard get your hands off of me!"

Pepper pushed her hands forward to see if she could remove, or at least loosen, his grip on her. Instead of trying to get him to resist she Deflected his chest with her power, causing him to slam into the door and Pepper to fly backwards, landing hard on her behind.

"Oww," Pepper grumbled, getting up off of the floor.

"What the bloody hell was that?" Malfoy demanded, trying to regain his balance. Pepper wanted to get her wand to hex him, but it was lying next to the door.

"Oh screw it," said Pepper, freezing the room. She was very tired **(A/N: Tired is CANSADO in Spanish! I just learned that, sorry)** and she really wanted to get to the Hospital Wing for some Sleeping Draught.

She walked over to Malfoy and picked her wand up off the floor. Pointing it right between his eyes she unfroze the room.

"You'd –" he stopped speaking once he saw his current situation.

"Move out of my way, git," Pepper said firmly. "Or you'll be really sorry."

Slowly, with an unattractive frown on his face, Malfoy moved aside, letting Pepper leave the classroom.

She hurried to the Hospital Wing, where she asked Madame Pomfrey for some Sleeping Draught for a forlorn Hermione. After making Pepper promise she'd bring Hermione to the Hospital Wing if she was having any problems, Madame Pomfrey gave Pepper a vial full of blueish liquid.

"Thanks," Pepper told her, putting the small vial into the pocket of her robes.

Pepper headed back to Gryffindor Tower, taking the route that didn't go past the Defense Against the Dark Arts room. Harry and Ron were still not in the common room, and Pepper supposed all of Gryffindor was probably out on the Quidditch field trying out Harry's new Moonbeam Five Hundred.

Pepper discovered that she couldn't open the dormitory door when she reached it, then she remembered she had locked it. "_Alohamora_," she said, her wand pointed at the door. She found she still could not open it. Puzzled, she tried the unlocking spell again, but to no avail. "Hermione?" she called, knocking on the door. She received no answer from inside.

She recalled a situation like this – except she had been in the room at the time. Panicked now, Pepper pulled a bobby pin from her up-do and began picking the lock on the door hurriedly, hoping that she wouldn't find what she suspected she'd find on the other side of the door.

Finally hearing a _click_ which meant the door was unlocked, Pepper threw open the door, a very unwelcoming sight meeting her. Hermione was sitting on her bed, compass point at her wrist, blood streaming onto the sheets. Hermione looked up as the door swung open and Pepper saw that her face was red and splotchy, though no tears were issuing from her eyes.

"Hermione!" Pepper exclaimed, acting quickly. She moved her finger in towards herself, as if beckoning someone to her, and the compass came zooming into her hand. She ran over to the open window and chucked it as hard as she could out into the air before rushing back to Hermione.

She pulled off her robes and tried to wrap them around Hermione's wrist, though it was hard, as her robes were very bulky. Seeing that her robe idea wouldn't work, Pepper pulled Hermione to her feet and into the bathroom. She stuck Hermione's wrists under a cold water faucet while she pulled a yard of toilet paper from its holder from one of the stalls in the bathroom. Pepper wrapped the tissue around Hermione's wrist as tight as she could and turned off the faucet.

"Hermione, how the fuck could you do this! I am SUCH a bad influence!" Pepper cried, tears now streaming down her face.

"A lot happened while you were gone," Hermione choked out.


	26. Chapter 25: When Slytherins Attack

**A/N: **WOOHOO! I LOVE you reviewers! You guys are so cool! Thanks to all of you who answered my last authors note, its cool knowing where all you people come from. In answer to **Lady Emerald Black**, I am now doing a poll on a middle name for Pepper. **If anyone has any ideas please tell me! Zurine**, I'm in Spanish 2 and thanks for the Espanol lesson...Oh, and Kirsten, you are in this chapter, by the way.

I'm sorry that this is a really short chappy, but it had to end where it did because it's a perfect ending! I'm a little sleep deprived as it is 1:08 in the morning, so I'll stop rambling now before I get going and I don't stop writing for pages!

Here it is, chapter twenty five!

**Chapter Twenty-Five**

"Hey Ginny, where were you earlier?" Ron asked his sister, coming up behind her in the library. She was sitting in a high backed chair across from a picture window that looked out onto the grounds, a book open in her lap.

Ginny turned her head to face Ron and Harry as they sat on the windowsill across from her. "I've been here for a while...Diandra **(A/N: Kirsten! It's you!) **and I...er...we had a project to finish for Herbology."

"Have you seen Hermione?" Harry asked, biting his lip in worry and ignoring Ginny's hesitant answer.

"No, she didn't travel on the Hogwarts Express. What's wrong? Why do you look so worried?" Ginny wondered, her forehead wrinkled in confusion.

"You haven't heard about what happened?" said Ron. He had expected Ginny to find out about Hermione's parents some way, though he wasn't sure why he assumed that.

Ginny shook her head. "Why, what's wrong?" she asked.

Harry opened his mouth to respond but before he could say anything Pepper rushed into the library. Ignoring yells from the librarian, Madam Pince, she ran straight to the group sitting by the picture window.

"Ron!" she panted, putting her hands on her knees and breathing heavily. It was clear she had just run a long distance.

"What?" Ron questioned.

"Hermione – what – happened – you – her – what – happened?" Pepper said between heavy breaths, not making much sense at all. Catching her breath for the most part she stood up straight and looked Ron in the face.

As Ron saw her flushed, tear-stained face he became concerned. "What are you talking about Pepper? What's wrong?" he asked.

"It's Hermione --- what pushed her over the edge? She said a lot had happened while I was gone... WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED WHILE I WAS GETTING HER SLEEPING POTION RON?" Pepper said a little too loudly, grabbing Ron by the shoulders and shaking him so hard his teeth rattled. "She said something about you so I've been racing all over the school to find you!"

It took Ron a moment to recover from Pepper's sudden burst of violence, but when he did he said, "What's happened? What do you mean what 'pushed her over the edge?'"

"She's followed my example Ron...she's followed my example..." Pepper said, taking a step back from Ron, her expression crumpling a bit.

"What example?" Ron asked, getting frustrated and impatient with Pepper's indistinct answers to his questions.

"Just tell me why she's so irked!" Pepper exclaimed. "I've got to know! What did you do to her?"

"Followed your example...Pepper, you don't mean – " Harry began, but Pepper ignored him.

"What happened?" Pepper asked again, her teeth clenched.

"_I _did," a sickly sweet voice said. Sadie Montgomery walked up behind Pepper and rested her hand on Ron's arm lightly. Pepper took another step back, staring in disbelief. Ron moved his arm away and shook his head violently at Pepper, praying she wouldn't believe a word that was about to come out of the Slytherin's mouth.

"Get out, Montgomery," Harry hissed at her.

Montgomery laughed lightly. "You see, Halliwell, Ron here had forgotten that he was in fact with _me_ when he saw Granger today, so I made it a point of reminding him."

At this point, unable to sit in the shadows any longer, Ginny jumped from her chair. "It's a lie," she said, not wanting to believe what the girl was saying. She knew it couldn't be true, Ron had liked Hermione for years he couldn't have just dropped her for some Slytherin over a Christmas vacation. Ginny knew Hermione meant a lot more to Ron than that. "It's a lie," she repeated.

Montgomery laughed again. "Aww, poor little Weasley. She doesn't want to believe that her big brother got some sense knocked into him and ditched that little Mudblood."

In an instant four wands were whipped out from four robe pockets and pointing in the Slytherin's face. The hatred in the air was so heavy it was almost palpable. "Get the hell out of here before you have so many hex marks on you no one will recognize you," Ginny growled.

Montgomery's bubbly laugh surfaced again. "Don't make threats you can't carry out, Weasley," she said.

"Who says we won't carry it out?" Pepper said.

"Besides," Montgomery continued as if Pepper hadn't said anything, "Ron wouldn't want you to harm me, would you Ron?" She smiled seductively and made a motion to touch Ron but he just put his wand closer to his face. She laughed again.

"What is going on here?" the brisk voice of Madam Pince said as she came upon the five students. After assessing the situation she screamed, "Out! Out! All of you! Now!"

Pepper, Ginny, Ron, Harry and Montgomery all ran out of the library. They were all covering their heads, as the librarian had bewitched a book to fly after them, banging them on the heads with all its might.

"Ron, you know you loved shagging me," Montgomery said, still trying to convince the lot of them she was with Ron.

"What is this, screw Slytherins month?" Pepper sighed exasperatedly, storming from the corridor.

Montgomery smirked in satisfaction and Ron and Harry looked desperately down the corridor at Pepper's retreating back. Harry, Ron and Ginny all hurried after Pepper, Ron wanting to talk to her about Hermione, Harry wanting to get her back and Ginny wanting to know what the hell was going on.

Sadie Montgomery stood there, a hand on her hip and a smirk on her face. "Isn't it amazing what people will believe?" she said to herself, shaking her head slightly. "Draco better pay me well for this...I had to touch Weasley....ick."

"What is going on?" Ginny asked Harry and Ron as they walked through the maze of corridors that was Hogwarts.

"Why can't Pepper stay in one place so we can talk to her?" Ron wondered aloud.

"Not that she'll talk to me," Harry mumbled.

"And apparently no one will talk to me!" exclaimed Ginny. "I would like to know what's going on here...I say we go back up to the common room. If Pepper doesn't want to be found we won't find her."

"No kidding," said Ron. "C'mon Harry, I agree with Ginny."

Pepper apprehended there wasn't really anywhere she could go to get away from people. Hermione was locked in their dormitory, Ron, Harry and Ginny were hanging out by the library and many people were in the common room.

An idea came to her: she could go to Professor Ardel. She did have a question about his assignment on Chipauras...

On her way to the Defense Against the Dark Arts room she went over what had just happened in the library. It was a very similar situation to what had happened with Spada and Harry; except that Ron really seemed surprised that Montgomery had approached him. Harry hadn't seemed too surprised about the Slytherin approaching Ron, and Pepper thought that was odd.

Her brain then switched to Hermione who was asleep in the dormitory. Pepper had practically force fed Hermione the Sleeping Draught before throwing all sharp objects out the window and locking her in the dorm room. Pepper didn't want to risk Hermione doing anything while she was gone, even if the girl was asleep. Pepper mentally kicked herself for the millionth time for giving Hermione a horrible example to follow like that. She had never even imagined that Hermione would hurt herself, though. She supposed she would never imagine that Hermione's parents would die like that, either. Too much was happening at once, and Pepper realized she was in way over her head. Emotions were running haywire, (not just her own emotions, either), and everything was happening simultaneously.

Soon, she arrived at her destination and she entered the room. Finding that Professor Ardel was not there she went to the front of the room and up a short staircase, coming to his office door. She knocked a few times and the door was answered almost immediately.

"Miss Halliwell, come in," Professor Ardel welcomed with a smile. Pepper entered the office to find it almost empty; everything was packed into boxes and bags.

"Professor, what's going on? Are you leaving?" Pepper asked, her confusion very apparent.

"Ah...yes...an extremely urgent situation has come to my attention. I am needed elsewhere, for the safety of many people. I wish I could stay, Pepper, but I'm sure the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher will be more than capable of helping you and Harry prepare for the War," Professor Ardel explained. Pepper saw that his expression was that of concern and sadness.

"But you can't leave, not now, on such short notice!" Pepper exclaimed.

"I'm afraid that I must," said Professor Ardel. "You will, of course, continue with extra lessons, as that is necessary. I would stay if it was possible but that is out of the question. Hogwarts no longer needs me."

"Yes it does! Harry and I need you, you've been such a great help!" Pepper cried desperately, trying to convince the professor not to leave, even though she knew it would be in vain.

There came a knock at the door and Professor Dumbledore poked his head into the office. "Hello Miss Halliwell. Garrick, your carriage is here, shall I escort you?"

"No thank you Albus, I believe I can find my own way," Ardel said. He then turned to Pepper. "Miss Halliwell it was a pleasure teaching you. I look forward to seeing you again."

Before Pepper could say another word, he was gone.

"Why, Professor?" Pepper asked the headmaster. "Why did he have to leave? Why does everything have to happen at the same time?"

"The time will come when you will see why all of this has to happen," Professor Dumbledore said wisely. "Everything happens for a reason, Miss Halliwell. You may not know it now but all that has happened to you has happened for a specific purpose. Nothing happens at random. Every hardship you must face makes you a better, stronger person and one day you will be very thankful for that. I know that that may be hard to understand at this point in time, so I am now offering my ears to you. Anytime you need to talk, Miss Halliwell, anytime at all, just come to my office.

"Now I suggest you head down to dinner, as I am going to do. I am sure you are quite hungry after all the day's events. I also advise you bring some food up to Miss Granger, as she will undoubtedly be hungry when she wakes up."

"Thank you, Professor," Pepper said meekly.

Professor Dumbledore left without another word to Pepper, closing the door slowly behind him. Pepper was left to stare at the empty wall behind ex-Professor Ardel's desk which used to hold a giant picture of a Demiguise.

Pepper shook her head in disbelief. Her parents' deaths, cutting herself, kissing Malfoy, secrets from her friends, the Féminin Vivreencore Curse, finding out about her mother's foreseen death, Harry's Slytherin girlfriend, breaking up with Harry, shagging Malfoy, Hermione's parents, Hermione cutting herself, Ron's Slytherin companion...

Pepper stood and walked out the door, making her way down to the Great Hall for dinner...

Her new world which she had known for such a short time was slowly crumbling, piece by piece, right in front of her face.

**!!!! !!!!!!!!!**

**A/N: So what's up with Ginny? Isn't she acting oddly? And why did Professor Ardel have to leave? Why are the Slytherin girls with Harry and Ron? **Tune in next chapter for answers (maybe)!


	27. Chapter 26: Truth Spell

**A/N: **It's another chapter! Woo hoo! It would have been up earlier but fanfiction was being a bum and not letting me get on.

You know something, I hate English homework! It's so pointless!

Anyway, thanks to **charmedsisters**for bringing the Floo Powder thing to my attention, and I wanted to tell you that the Truth Spell is indeed coming up in this chappy. I forget if anyone else said anything...oh, Meera, your review was wonderful. smile

Well, here it is: wondrous twenty six!

**Chapter Twenty-Six**

"Sorry for running out on you guys like that, I'm not sure what I was thinking," Pepper said to Ron and Ginny as she sat down at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall across from Harry and next to Ginny. She would have said it to Harry, but she wasn't speaking to him.

"You don't believe what Montgomery said, do you?" Ron asked.

"I'm not sure yet," said Pepper. "I mean, you _were_ a lot more resistant to her than _Harry_ was." She shot Harry a dirty look across the table. "So I think I believe you about not sleeping with her."

"That's good," Ron said.

"I didn't – " Harry began explaining to Pepper but Pepper cut him off by putting her hand up in front of her face.

"Talk to the hand, Harry," she said.

He glared at her, but she didn't see this as her hand was still in front of her face.

"Where's Professor Ardel?" Ginny asked, slightly amused and slightly anxious at the situation between Pepper and Harry.

"Gone," Pepper replied, glancing up at the teacher's table. "He left fifteen minutes ago."

"You can't be serious," Harry said. "Professor Ardel _left_?"

"He said he was needed elsewhere...then Dumbledore came in and gave me this huge lecture on why things are happening and blah blah blah," said Pepper.

Pepper watched as Professor Dumbledore stood up. Silence fell on the Great Hall as the students waited for him to speak.

"As some of you may have noticed, Professor Ardel is not here with us tonight. He received a very urgent call this afternoon and departed from here less than an hour ago. Sadly, he will not be returning as your Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher this year," said Dumbledore to a slightly shocked audience.

Groans of disappointment filled the Great Hall. Everyone had liked Professor Ardel and were sad that he had to leave. "Who's the new teacher?" someone shouted out.

"I'm sure many of you hope that the class will be cancelled for the year," said Dumbledore with a small smile. "However, we have found a gracious replacement on such short notice. You are lucky enough to be studying under the advisement of an Auror for the rest of the year."

Murmurs broke out through the room. "An Auror? How wicked is that?" Ginny said, her excitement showing on her face. "Do you realize how much we're going to learn about the actual Dark Arts? He's had hands on experience with the Dark Arts, after all."

"Settle down, settle down," said Dumbledore, though he was smiling. "Professor Giancarlo could not be here with us tonight, but she will be here when classes start tomorrow.

"I can hear your stomachs rumbling from here, so I believe it is time to enjoy the wonderful dinner prepared for us!"

Dumbledore sat down just as the golden plates filled themselves.

"Wonder why Ardel had to leave so quickly," said Ron, helping himself to everything in sight.

"I'm not sure. He said he was urgent and he had to leave "for the safety of many people." It probably had something to do with the Death Eater attack," Pepper said.

"Yeah, I'm surprised Dumbledore didn't say anything about that," said Harry. Pepper ignored him.

"Pepper why don't you stop being so stubborn and talk to Harry?" Ron inquired, getting tired of this.

"No. He cheated on me, so the least he deserves is the silent treatment," said Pepper.

"I did not," Harry told her angrily. "You're the one who cheated on me for my worst enemy!"

"What?!" said Ginny, obviously confused.

"No I didn't," said Pepper hotly. "We were already broken up so I didn't cheat on you!"

"You still slept with Malfoy," Harry said.

"What!" Ginny repeated.

"How would you know?" Pepper asked.

"I saw you on the Map," Harry hissed softly so no one else could hear but Pepper.

"What, does it say on it if people are having sex or not?" Pepper wondered, trying to work her way around the fact that she did sleep with Malfoy.

"No, but your dots were really close together," Harry told her.

"That doesn't mean anything! We could have just been in his bed together without actually having sex," Pepper said.

"Yeah right," Harry said to himself.

"So what, you think I'm easy?" Pepper said, offended.

"Will you two just stop bickering so you can hear the real story from each other?" Ginny said, trying to mediate. It didn't work too well.

"I'm not sure what I think, Pepper," Harry said.

"Look, since Ginny wants to do this by talking, I'll talk. This is what happened: I was really upset about the fact that you cheated on me," – Harry started to say something but Ginny held her hand up for silence so Pepper could tell them everything that happened – "so I Mirrored down to the dungeons because I thought it was the last place you would look for me. Malfoy came along and asked me what happened so I spilled my guts to him. Don't ask me why, I was just in such a state – oh god, I spilled my guts to Malfoy. He knows everything!" Pepper said, horrified, covering her mouth with her hand.

"What is everything?" Ron asked.

"_Everything_," Pepper said. "Like practically everything that's happened to me since I got here."

"That's not good," said Harry.

"Anyway, truth is, Harry, I'm not sure if I screwed him or not. I mean, he got me drunk, so I don't remember the actually having sex part, if there was one," said Pepper.

"Can you remember if anything you told him he could use against you?" Ginny questioned.

"I'm not sure..." Pepper said. "I really hope not. Anyway, if he says something I could just deny it."

"Let's hope so," said Ron.

"Pepper, I did not sleep with Spada," said Harry, bringing them back to the point of the conversation. "I know I kissed her and everything but I didn't mean to."

"You mean you're just really horny and couldn't help yourself," Pepper said.

Ginny and Ron laughed. "Sure..." Harry said. "So are we on speaking terms again?"

"I suppose," Pepper smiled. "I'm thinking the best thing to do at the moment is stick together, especially if Malfoy is plotting against us."

"Agreed," said Ron. "Pepper, I'd want to know what you meant about Hermione following your example."

"Does it mean what I think it means?" Harry asked solemnly.

"I'm willing to bet it does," said Pepper.

Harry looked very alarmed and very scared. "No," he breathed. "Hermione couldn't do that."

"Do what?" Ron asked. Then the answer dawned on him. The only thing Pepper had done that it was possible for Hermione to do was – "She didn't...hurt herself did she?"

Pepper nodded. Ron leapt to his feet. "Ron, sit down, I've got it covered," Pepper told him. "I stopped the bleeding, gave her a Sleeping Draught and threw all pointy objects out the window. Not to mention the fact that I locked the door thrice over before I left. I'm not letting her go to classes tomorrow either."

"We should take her to the Hospital Wing," Harry said.

"Hermione did _what_?" Ginny asked, her eyes wide. "She _hurt_ herself. Does that mean what I think it does? Wait, you did it too Pepper? She was following _your_ example? I have GOT to talk to you Pepper."

Ginny grabbed hold of Pepper's arm and led her from the Great Hall. Only once they were in the Gryffindor common room did Ginny let go. "Could you tell me what the hell I have missed?" Ginny ordered.

So Pepper filled Ginny in, as she was used to doing by now. Everyone seemed to want to know what was going on in the life of Pepper Halliwell.

Ginny did end up in tears, as Pepper suspected, then insisted on seeing Hermione to say she was sorry about her parents and share a friend moment with her.

Pepper took Ginny up to her dormitory and unlocked the intricate Locking Charms she had placed on the door.

Hermione was still asleep when the two girls walked in. Her face was still splotchy and red and her sleep didn't look at all peaceful. "Poor Hermione," whispered Pepper. "I know exactly how she feels...and I'm not sure I blame her for what she did."

"You weren't kidding when you said all pointy objects went out the window," said Ginny, looking around the room. Everything with corners that hadn't been able to go out the window had its corners covered in Spell-o-Tape.

"I didn't want to take any chances," said Pepper, shrugging. "You know, Ginny, I'm willing to bet you're the one Hermione's going to spill to. She wouldn't really talk to me...I mean she told me what happened but not what she was feeling or the last time she slept or had a decent meal. Therefore, I'll leave you to it. She's been asleep for a while... so she should be waking up soon. I've got to go talk to Harry...have fun."

Pepper left the still asleep Hermione and Ginny alone, hoping that Hermione would talk to someone. And that's when Pepper's mind started forming a plan.

Harry and Ron were sitting in the common room by the time Pepper got down there. "Harry, can I talk to you?" Pepper said.

"Sure," said Harry, getting up. "I'll meet you on the Quidditch Pitch, Ron."

"Don't be late for practice, Katie will have your head," warned Ron.

Harry smiled, nodded, and followed Pepper over to a deserted table in the common room. "I want to get everything absolutely straight between us, Harry. I'm still a little apprehensive about this whole thing..."

"And I'm not too fond of the idea of you shagging Malfoy," said Harry.

"Which is why I've got to do this," Pepper said. Before Harry could answer Pepper started talking again. "For those who want the truth reviled/ Open hearts and secrets unsealed/ From now until it's now again/ After which the memory ends."

A small wind picked up after Pepper was finished with the spell, drawing the attention of some people. The Truth Spell was done and now Pepper would be able to find out whatever she wanted from Harry.

"What happened?" Harry asked. "Pepper...what did you just chant? I'm thinking it was a spell..."

"Don't worry, it'll wear off in twenty four hours," Pepper beamed. "So Harry, I was wondering...did you enjoy that kiss with Spada the other day?"

"Yes," Harry said before he could think. He stared at Pepper, who smiled mischievously. "What did you do, Pepper?" Harry asked.

"You might want to get going, Harry, or you'll be late for Quidditch practice," Pepper said, trying to contain her laughter at the look on his face.

Glaring suspiciously at her once more, he got up and left the common room.

"This should be fun," Pepper said to herself. "Too bad Harry will forget everything that happens after the spell wears off."

Crawling into her four-poster that night, Pepper thought about all that had happened in the past day. It was a lot, and she was sort of glad the new term started tomorrow, so she'd have her studies to focus on instead off all of her reeling emotions and thoughts.

She paused for a minute, making sure Hermione's breathing was still steady. The Sleeping Draught had worn off a while ago, and Ginny had informed Pepper that Hermione told her most everything. Hermione had then requested more of the potion, so Ginny had gotten some more from Madam Pomfrey.

Now Hermione was sleeping peacefully again. Good, Pepper thought, she definitely looked like she needed some sleep.

Pepper decided she was glad the Christmas holidays were coming to a close tomorrow, she thought they had dragged on for way too long. **(A/N: Yeah, me too, it started on chapter 18...) **She'd have to tell Hermione that she wasn't allowed to go to classes tomorrow...or maybe she'd just let Hermione sleep late. That way she wouldn't have to endure a fuming Hermione trying to beat her up to get out the door.

Pepper smiled, wondering if Leo, as her Whitelighter, would know she had cast a Truth Spell for personal gain. She also wondered if there were going to be any consequences to her spell. She had never used a spell or potion for personal gain because her aunts had always stressed that it was a bad idea to do that and there were always repercussions. Though hadn't she used her new power for personal gain by Mirroring back and forth from the Manor to Hogwarts? Once Pepper thought about it more she realized she had been using all of her powers for personal gain lately. Not just lately, since she'd come to Hogwarts...

Pepper shot up in her bed. Maybe all of the bad things that were happening to her were consequences of using her powers for personal gain. Pepper shook her head in attempt to rid those impossible ideas from her head. There was no way using her powers for her own benefit could have consequences like _that_, could there? Pepper wasn't so sure that answer was a 'no'.

She shook her head again as she laid back down. She didn't want to worry about that right now. All she wanted to think about was how to make sure Hermione's feelings stayed out in the open so everything wasn't bottled up inside of her and she did something she'd regret.

Plotting what sort of questions she was going to ask Harry tomorrow, Pepper fell into a restless sleep full of dreams she would have no recollection of in the morning.

"Harry get your arse out of bed, you're going to be late," Ron said, ripping back the hangings of his best friend's bed. "You've missed breakfast, I grabbed you some toast."

Harry groaned and rolled over. "I'm getting up, I'm getting up," he grumbled indistinctly.

As he was getting dressed as quickly as he could Hedwig flew in through the open window and landed on his bed. She dropped a letter from her mouth onto his bed. Pulling on his robe, Harry slid the letter open and read it, ignoring Ron's nagging that they were going to be late for class. Harry thought Ron was beginning to sound too much like Hermione.

_Harry,_

_I know this may sound a little odd, but this is Pepper's aunt Phoebe. I'm writing to you to ask you to watch out for Pepper. Over Christmas she seemed a little out of it and I'm afraid she's going to hurt herself again or something. I just thought she might need a little extra help...if it doesn't trouble you too much. _

_Thanks Harry,_

_Phoebe_

Harry re-read the letter in his first class of the day. He thought it was a little odd that Pepper's aunt was writing to him asking him to watch over Pepper...he wondered how Pepper acted over the vacation.

"So Harry, how was your morning of classes?" Pepper asked mischievously, sitting down at the Gryffindor table for lunch that afternoon. She planned to ask Harry as many questions as she could at that meal.

"Good," said Harry. "Where's Hermione?"

"I told you I was going to lock her in the room and not let her out today," Pepper said.

"Staying after class," Harry said automatically. As he did yesterday, he shot Pepper a suspicious look. "What did you do to me?" he asked.

"Nothing..." said a grinning Pepper. "Hey Harry, I've got a question for you...did you sleep with Spada?"

"No," Harry replied. He smiled; perhaps Pepper would believe him now that she'd cast a spell on him and she didn't get the answer she wanted...or maybe she'd just think the spell backfired on her.

"Did you screw her?" Pepper persisted.

"No," said Harry.

Pepper narrowed her eyes slightly, as if she was looking for something hidden on Harry's face. "Were you screwed by Spada?" Pepper tried.

Before Harry could stop, whatever spell Pepper had put him under made him answer, "Yes."

Pepper dropped her fork and it fell loudly onto the floor. "Spada screwed you?" she whispered viciously.

"Yes," Harry was forced to repeat. The look on Pepper's face was killing him.

**!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! **

**A/N: Mwahahaha! What does that mean? Ivi Spada raped Harry? (Ooh, Allison, you bad girl!) **


	28. Chapter 27: Defense Aganist the New Teac...

**A/N: **I think you reviewers are too smart for me...you predicted the future! Anyway, thanks to all of you eleven people for your dandy reviews! **charmedsisters** I have a question...I know the Summoning Spell changed in later seasons for some reason, but isn't the original one:

Spirit from the other side

Hear these words, hear my cry

Come to me

I call to thee

Cross now the great divide

Isn't that it?

If anyone has a spare $200 lying around to give to me, I'd appreciate it. I need it to buy myself some wizard robes, a wand, some parchment, a scarf, a tie...you know, that sorta stuff. I asked my parents if I could have it for Christmas and they just sorta laughed at me and said it was a waste of money. They SO don't understand! Sigh. Oh well, for now I'll have to write to fulfill my Harry Potter needs.

**Chapter Twenty-Seven**

"You screwed her!" Pepper exclaimed.

"No, I didn't," Harry said.

"Well she screwed you!"

"Not sexually," Harry told Pepper solidly, looking her straight in the eye and willing her to believe him. "Screwed me _over_, in your terminology. I swear I didn't put a hand on her until that kiss in the hallway the other day."

Just to make sure he wasn't lying Pepper asked, "Harry, did you ever lay a hand on Spada before that kiss you had in the hallway."

"No," said Harry.

"Did Spada lay a hand or anything else on you before that kiss you had in the hallway?" Pepper asked, trying to be through before she was sure.

Pepper smiled in relief. "Well then let's get to Defense Against the Dark Arts, I want to see who the new teacher is!"

Harry smiled in relief as well. He was really glad Pepper believed him, though he was a little angry it tool that spell of hers to convince her. "Alright, let's go," he said, getting up from the table.

Upon entering the Defense Against the Dark Arts room Pepper and Harry found that the only person in the room was Hermione, who was sitting at a table in the front, her bag on the floor next to her and her hands folded neatly on the table in front of her.

"Hermione, how'd you escape?" Pepper cried, rushing to the front of the room to talk to the escapee.

"It took ages!" Hermione said, standing up. "I can't believe you locked me in the room Pepper! You really expected me to miss a whole day of classes?"

"Triple locked, to be exact," said Pepper. "And yes, I did expect you to miss a whole day of classes."

"Pepper I need classes to take my mind off of – " Hermione stopped suddenly, turning her head away from Pepper. "Where's Professor Ardel?" she asked, looking at Pepper once again.

"He left yesterday, we're meeting the new professor this period," Pepper informed Hermione. "Shall I sit next to you then?"

Hermione shrugged lightly so Pepper took a seat at Hermione's table. Harry sat at the table behind the two girls and they waited for the rest of the class to file in. "You know Hermione, we've got to talk," Pepper told her friend. "And Ron didn't sleep with Montgomery."

"How can you be so sure?" Hermione asked. As if on cue Ron entered the classroom and took a seat behind the girls.

"I thought you were locked in your dormitory, Hermione," said Ron. He was trying to make normal conversation with her to see if she really did believe that he and Montgomery had done something over the break.

"I broke out," Hermione replied somewhat tersely, not looking at Ron. She still wasn't so sure she believed Ron and Pepper.

"Believe me, I'm sure," Pepper whispered in Hermione's ear in answer to her question.

"So where's this new professor?" Hermione wondered as the bell rang.

"I dunno, she wasn't at dinner last night, either," said Harry. "I've never known a professor to be really late."

"She's an Auror, you know," Ron pointed out to Hermione, hoping dearly that she hadn't heard that news yet."

"Oh really?" said Hermione a little more warmly than she had said her last comment. She also appeared excited now, as she was beginning to squirm in her seat. "It should be very educational to be under the instruction of a real Auror."

"Moody taught us in fourth year and he was an Auror," Harry said, feeling a little protective of his friend and former professor.

"He didn't count," said Ron. "He was locked in a trunk all year."

Pepper looked a little confused but chose not to question what they were talking about. The class was beginning to grow restless, as their professor was now a good five minutes late. Everyone was talking more loudly and some people were out of their seats. "Maybe Dumbledore was just lying to us and we don't really have a teacher yet," Ron said, glancing around the room at the unruly people.

"Don't be ridiculous, Ron, Dumbledore wouldn't send us to a class if there wasn't a teacher," said Hermione exasperatedly.

"Maybe she's going to try and make a grand entrance by Apperating into the room when we least expect it," Harry suggested.

"How many times do I have to tell you Harry –" Hermione started. "Don't bother, I know," Harry said, stopping a lecture from Hermione about _Hogwarts, A History_.

"Or perhaps she's just invisible," remarked Pepper. Realizing that this could be true the four of them looked towards the front of the room, a little paranoid. Before they ended their bought of paranoia the classroom door was opened so hard it banged against the wall, causing all the occupants of the class to stop what they were doing and pay attention to the person that was bustling into the room.

The new professor was just a swirl of black robes until she spun on her heel and faced the class. She was very young. Her figure alone was very intimidating in black boots, leather pants and a collarless leather vest. Her robes were a little tighter than what appeared to be normal. Her face was somewhat severe, probably due to the fact that she had on a little too much eyeliner and very red lipstick. Her blonde hair was pulled back into a fancy twist on the back of her head. The students were all a little stunned by their new professor's appearance.

"It would be greatly appreciated if you all took a seat and closed your mouths," she said in a severe voice, though her voice was also very smooth and her words flowed from her mouth like honey. Everyone found a seat and sat in it, still looking stunned. Most of the boys were staring at her, their mouths open in surprise. "I apologize for my lateness," the professor continued, "but I had things that called for my attention. I can assure you that it will not happen again just I'm sure you lot won't be out of your seats again when I enter this room. If you are it will result in a detention. Is that clear?"

There were a few mumbles of "yes professor" and a few head nods. "Sorry, I didn't quite catch that," said the professor.

"Yes, professor," said the class, (especially the boys in an effort to be liked by the professor), more loudly.

"That's better. Since you most likely don't know, I'm Professor Giancarlo. I attended this school for seven years of schooling before moving on to becoming an Auror, so I'd advise you not to let me find you in any hidden passageways you think you're the only person who knows about, because I can tell you this: if it's in the castle I know where it is.

"I know that Professor Ardel was very well liked by all of his students, and that I'll have to work hard to be liked from all of you, though I may never accomplish that. That is not my greatest concern however. I am here to teach you to the best of my ability, not to care about what you think of me. I will not lie to you; I favor Gryffindor, as that was my own house. Therefore, the rest of you are going to have to work extra hard to prove yourselves to me."

"Teachers aren't supposed to favor anyone," Malfoy spoke up. Pepper slumped down in her chair a little, she wasn't very fond of being around Malfoy anymore – she found she blushed every time he was mentioned.

"Thank you for sharing, Mr. Malfoy, but I already knew that. But seeing as I am the teacher and you are the student, I may do what I please and when you become a professor you may do what you choose," replied Professor Giancarlo. The Gryffindors and assorted Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs snickered. Malfoy's normally pale face tinged pink.

"As I was saying before I was most rudely interrupted, the rest of you will have to prove yourselves to me," continued the professor. "That's going to be hard, let me tell you, because I'm going to work you until you pass out for the rest of the year. It is imperative that you learn how to defend yourself against the Dark Arts. Are there any questions?"

A silence came after this speech. None of the students were exactly sure what to say, though the Gryffindors were ecstatic that Professor Giancarlo favored them.

"Will you be teaching us the Unforgivables?" someone asked.

"Ahh...yes, I was informed the fake Moody taught those somewhat in your fourth year...I might, to answer your question. I am aware of the fact that it is illegal and it is very advanced magic, yet, as I said before, it is very important that you are able to defend yourselves. I suppose it will depend on how well you lot are doing. Are there any other questions?"

There weren't any questions so the professor continued. "Well then, I guess I'll use this time to take role and get to know you all."

She picked up the role list from her desk and ran through it, calling out each student's name. She called Pepper's name and looked to smile at the girl when Pepper called, "Present." Professor Giancarlo then glanced around at the three people sitting around Pepper. She continued on with the roll call list, not smiling at another student until she reached Ron's name.

"Mr. Weasley..." she said, "How's are your brothers? Charlie? Bill?"

Ron looked at her for a moment, not really believing what he was hearing. "Er...they're good," he said.

She laughed a little. "You don't remember me, do you?" she said, a smile twitching at the corners of her mouth, making her even more attractive.

Ron tentatively shook his head "no."

"I'll save the story for later, then, as I'm sure the rest of the class doesn't need to hear it," said Professor Giancarlo.

She returned to the role call, Pepper, Harry and Hermione shooting a look a Ron, whose ears were turning red. When the role was finished she placed the sheet on her desk and returned to the front of the room. "For this first lesson, and a few after this one, we will be working on a rather difficult bit of magic. This particular spell will help you drive a Dementor away. Does anyone know what it's called?"

Hermione's hand was the first in the air. "The Patronus Charm," said Hermione once the professor had called on her. "It acts as a shield so the Dementors feed on it instead of you."

"Very good Miss Granger, five points to Gryffindor," Professor Giancarlo said. "Can anyone tell me what a Patronus is supposed to look like?" Hermione hand was, once again, the first in the air, but Harry's hand also shot up. "Mr. Potter?"

"It's slivery and it's supposed to take the form of an animal. The animal form your Patronus takes is significant, as it says something about you," Harry supplied.

"Another five points to Gryffindor, Mr. Potter. A Patronus Charm is very advanced magic; however, I believe it is necessary for you to know, seeing as the Dementors are no longer under the control of the Ministry of Magic. Some of you will not be able to conjure this until you are out of school and more powerful witches and wizards, and some of you will be able to create a corporeal Patronus the first time you do it in this class." Her eyes flickered over to Harry, who avoided her gaze. "The incantation is "Expecto Patronum." While you are saying this you must think of a very happy thought and concentrate on that thought alone. Now, everyone pull out their wands and practice this with me."

The students took their wands from their bags and robes while Professor Giancarlo pulled her own wand from a pocket inside her robes. "Ready?" she asked. Without waiting from any answer from the class she held out her wand and said, "Expecto Patronum!" A silvery fox sprung out of the tip of her wand. Being that there was no Dementor around, it disappeared almost instantly. "That, class, is a Patronus. Do it with me this time. Remember to think a strong, happy thought..."

"Expecto Patronum!" the class said in unison. Professor Giancarlo was pleased (but not surprised) to see a stag jump from Harry's wand and an otter to spring from Hermione's. Ron had conjured an almost corporeal Patronus; one that resembled a cat. A few other people produced silvery clouds and some others produced nothing.

"Good," complimented the professor. "Now break off into groups and practice."

The class stood and went off into groups as the teacher asked.

"Why is nothing coming out of my wand?" Pepper asked, tapping her wand on her other hand to make sure it was working correctly. Since Harry, Ron, and Hermione could already conjure Patronuses they were focusing on making something come from Pepper's wand.

"Were you thinking happy thoughts?" Ron wondered.

"I think I was..." said Pepper, still examining her wand.

"It has to be a really powerful, happy thought," Harry explained, plucking Pepper's wand from her hand because she was starting to annoy him by tapping the wand against the desk.

"I'm not sure if I have any of those," Pepper said, glaring at Harry before snatching her wand back from him.

"Well think, Professor Giancarlo will probably be giving us a huge essay on how to conjure a Patronus and what the shape ours takes says about us," Hermione said knowingly. "Besides, we know you're a powerful witch, Pepper, so you can do this."

Pepper racked her brain for a happy thought or memory. When her Aunt Piper and Uncle Leo got married...when she found out her Aunt Phoebe was engaged to Cole...getting her car...finding out her Aunt was pregnant...when her mother and her aunts discovered their powers...meeting Grams...meeting her grandmother...spending time with her father...learning that she was a two-way witch...seeing her mother and father laughing and talking together...

That one had to be it, Pepper knew it right away. "I've got one," she told the other three, nodding determinedly. She raised her wand, focused on the thought and said solidly, "Expecto Patronum!"

Apparently the thought was happy enough, for a defined, silvery unicorn sprung forth from Pepper's wand tip. "I can cojure a Patronus," Pepper said in a sing-song voice, doing a little happy dance.

"Very good, Miss Halliwell. Conjuring a corporeal Patronus on your second attempt is a very hard thing to do," said Professor Giancarlo, coming over to the group. "And a unicorn, at that. Do you care to tell me, Miss Granger and Mr. Weasley, how it was that the two of you learned how to conjure a Patronus?" She turned to look at Hermione and Ron.

"Harry taught us," Hermione said, not wanting to go into the DA because this teacher was an Auror.

"I see," said Professor Giancarlo, knowing that was not the whole story but deciding not to push the matter. She could always just ask Dumbledore anyway. "Well, why don't you work with Mr. Weasley a bit and then the four of you can help the other students."

"Yes, Professor," said Hermione politely.

With a small smile the professor sashayed off to another group.


	29. Chapter 28: Conspiring and Letters

**A/N: **Sorry for the delay on this chapter, but I had writer's tar. I'm still looking for middle names for Pepper...though I like Lillian, and my dandy friend gave me Lee. I'm not sure what I'm going to use yet...the polls are still open!!! So give me ideas, I beg of you! Though keep in mind how her initials will look – **P. . H. B. ** I think PLHB looks dandy. Her middle name probably won't start with P because, as my pal R to the I pointed out to me, PPHB doesn't look too good.

**charmedsisters **thanks again. I'm not sure if that spell will come into play in this story, but there's a good chance it will. You're now my excuse for not updating – you hadn't reviewed me until today so I couldn't post till today!

**Chapter Twenty-Eight**

By the next afternoon the castle was buzzing with talk about the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.

"I can't believe they sent an Auror that young and that attractive to come and teach us," Ron said as the four friends walked through the hallways. "Add the fact that she favors Gryffindor and..."

"We _know_!" Hermione, Pepper and Harry shouted. Ron had been saying that for the past day and a half. He was practically in awe of Professor Giancarlo and once he'd found out for sure that Hermione wasn't mad at him he was free to talk about the new teacher.

"So are you going to ask her how she knows you and your brothers?" Harry asked. "I'd be interested to know..."

"I'll ask her after class tomorrow," said Ron. "I want to know if I really should remember her. I hope she wasn't my baby sitter. Then she'd have all these embarrassing stories to tell about me."

"I'd like to know some of _those_," said Hermione, smiling somewhat. "Maybe she was there when Fred and George turned your teddy bear into a spider."

Harry and Hermione broke out into laughter (the first laugh that had come out of Hermione since she had gotten back to Hogwarts) and Ron's face turned red and he grumbled something indistinguishable. Pepper laughed at Ron's reaction, though she had no idea what was going on.

"I never should have told you about that," Ron said as the laughter died down.

There was a small silence. "Harry," Pepper said, "I've been thinking...and I know you're not really going to know much about this but – wait – are you _sure_ you remember me asking you about your rendezvous with Spada?"

"Yes Pepper. You're starting to sound like Ron: going over this over and over again," Harry told her, sighing. "And, yes, I know what comes next..."

"But you're not supposed to remember!" Pepper, Harry, Hermione and Ron all said together.

"But really, you aren't," Pepper said, annoyed that this was happening and all her friends weren't helping at all. "I've got to write to my aunts about this."

"Why is it such a big deal that he remembered what you asked him, Pepper?" Ron asked.

"Because that's _not supposed to happen_," Pepper said. "The spell specifically states 'From now until it's now again/ After which the memory ends.' That means in twenty-four hours he was supposed to forget everything that happened in that time period. And that didn't happen! It might be because he's a wizard...or it could be because I said it wrong or _something_, but I still want to know. Therefore, I should write to my aunts. You know, I'm wondering why they haven't written in a while..."

"Hey, Pepper, why don't you use that spell on Malfoy?" Harry proposed. "That way you'd know –" he stopped suddenly and gulped, not wanting to suggest that Malfoy had raped Pepper or that she had even shagged him.

"You'd know what really happened," Ron finished for Harry, glancing over at his friend with some confusion.

"Why didn't I think of that before?" Pepper said, shaking her head at her own stupidity. "I should do that...though I don't know how or when I'm going to get him alone. Come to think of it, I don't really want to be alone with him in the first place." She faked a gag to show how disgusted that thought made her.

"I wonder if he'd remember what happened after twenty four hours was up?" Hermione thought aloud.

"He would if it's because wizards remember what happened," Pepper pointed out. "But if it was for some other reason...like because Harry's so powerful or something...then I doubt he'd remember anything that would happen. I mean, Malfoy's not the sharpest crayon in the box, is he?"

"That depends on the way you mean it, Pepper," Hermione said. "He's not too powerful, I don't think, but he is pretty smart. He's the second in the class, I think."

"Behind you, of course," Ron said.

"Well..." said Hermione, not wanting to boast. "Actually, he'd be third in the class, wouldn't he? Since Pepper came, and all."

"I think he'd still be second," Harry said. "I mean, I think you and Pepper are pretty much tied for number one. Both Pepper and Hermione's cheeks turned pink.

Pepper entered her dormitory with a mindset to write a letter to her aunts asking about what might have went wrong with her spell. When she opened her bed curtains to crawl in her bed and write her letter, she found three owls sitting on top of a package. One owl was her own Cashlinn, and another she recognized as Harry's owl. But she had never seen the third owl before. When they saw Pepper, the owls flew off the box in a rustle of feathers, letting Pepper take the package. Pepper gave each of the owls a treat before Hedwig and the owl she didn't know flew out the window and Pepper sat back on her bed, intending to open the package.

There was a letter attached to the box, so Pepper unfolded it, curious about the package's contents.

_Pepper,_

_You didn't really think we'd let you get away, did you? Can you give Leo permission to tell us everything you told him so we don't have to beat it out of you? _

_Anyway, you want to know what's in the package, right? Well, we'll tell you – it's your parents' love letters, the ones you left in that house of yours. Yeah, that's right, both of those gigantic mansions are technically yours now...though we're not really sure if Dumbledore wanted us to give you that information yet...Oh well, we're your aunts, so we should really decide what to tell you and what not to tell you. So yes, those houses are yours. You don't have to decide what to do with them now. In fact, forget we told you that! Don't worry about it at all; the three of us and Dumbledore are taking care of things at the moment. For now just enjoy lovely Hogwarts. Tell us all that's been going on...and tell Hermione we're sorry about the loss of her parents. (And tell us what's been going on with Malfoy, who we told you to stay away from, don't forget!) _

_We hope you enjoy the letters. We had a good nostalgic cry over them and I'm sure you will too. Well, maybe not a nostalgic cry, but a cry nonetheless. By the way, did you happen to find Prue's diary from her first year at Hogwarts? It should have been with the letters but it wasn't there...there are other diary's we found if you'd like to read them. Though, we'd probably have to edit them a little for you, as Prue got a little...er...X rated. _

_So have fun reading and write back really soon! We miss you again already! (Alright, so maybe it's a LITTLE nice having some peace and quiet...)_

_No, we're just kidding, we miss you. Anyway, write back as soon as possible and enjoy the infamous love letters!_

_Love,_

_Aunt Piper, Aunt Phoebe, Aunt Paige _

Pepper smiled to herself, chuckling at her aunts. She decided that she would give her Uncle Leo permission to tell them everything she had told him so she wouldn't have to get it beat out of her.

She was very glad that her aunts had sent her these letters because she really wanted to read them and she had regretted leaving them at her parents' house. Suddenly getting an idea, Pepper flipped over the box containing the letters, spilling the contents on her bed. She took the empty box and put her Astronomy compass and other various pointy objects dangerous to Hermione, (and even Pepper, if worse came to worse), into the package. Scrawling a note to her aunts telling them that Leo had permission to tell them everything and they were to keep these items from Hermione, she sealed the package. When Pepper was sure Cashlinn was well rested and reenergized, she tied the package to the owl's leg and sent her out the window.

Pepper checked her clock to see if she'd have time to read any of her letters before she had Hermione duty. She didn't, so she grabbed her book bag and headed downstairs to the common room to look after Hermione. Pepper, Harry, Ron, and Ginny had all made a schedule to watch over Hermione. They all wanted to make sure Hermione didn't have a minute to herself; even when she went to the bathroom Ginny or Pepper always went with her. None of them wanted to chance Hermione finding something sharp to hurt herself with. Pepper knew Hermione was catching on to their plan, but she didn't care if Hermione knew, as long as the plan worked Pepper was happy.

Harry and Ron were engaged in a game of Wizard's Chess and Hermione and Ginny were sitting at a table doing their homework. Pepper headed over to sit with Hermione and Ginny. "Hello," she greeted, sitting down in a chair next to Hermione.

The two of them barely acknowledged Pepper's presence. Apparently they were too absorbed in their homework to care. "Alright..." said Pepper, pulling out her own homework and getting started on Professor Giancarlo's essay on Patronuses.

The three girls were silent as they worked on their homework. Pepper wanted to strike up a conversation but knew Hermione would just tell her to shut up and do her work, so she didn't talk. A quarter of an hour into the silent working Pepper began to hum a merry tune.

"What are _you_ so happy about?" Ginny finally said, still not looking up from her homework.

"Oh, nothing," said Pepper as she continued to hum. She wanted Ginny to insist Pepper tell her so that Pepper could happily explain about the letters from her aunts. Though, Pepper thought, that might put Hermione on edge, talking about dead parents and all...

"Then can you stop humming? I'm having difficulties with my Potions homework and I need to concentrate," Ginny said.

Feeling downtrodden, Pepper stopped her humming and they slipped into silence again. Until...

"I DID IT!"

The heads of Hermione, Ginny, and Pepper whipped their heads towards Harry and Ron's chess game, where Harry was jumping around jubilantly. He was obviously very happy about something, and Pepper didn't think it was because he lost again.

"I WON!" Harry cried. "I BEAT RON! YES! FINALLY I AM VICTORIOUS!" He rushed over to the girls' table and gave each of them a hug in turn. Ron sat there on the floor, looking very glum and surprised.

"You beat Ron?" said Ginny, sounding as surprised as Ron looked.

"YES! I DID IT!" Harry shouted, punching the air with his fists. He was starting to attract a lot of attention from the other Gryffindors in the common room.

"You cheated, Harry," said Ron who still hadn't gotten up from his seat in front of the fire. "I know you did. There's no possible way you could have beaten me like that."

"I WON!" Harry repeated. Obviously, he wasn't paying any attention to what Ron had to say.

"Good for you, Harry," was all Hermione had to say before she turned back to her homework. Chess wasn't her biggest priority at the moment.

"My chess pieces were conspiring against me!" Ron tried to explain. Pepper walked over to Ron as he picked up his pawn and examined it. The pawn grumbled in protest and Ron sneered at it. "Weren't you conspiring against me?"

To the great surprise of Ron and Pepper his chess pieces answered him in the affirmative. "Really?" said Ron.

"You asked and we told you," said the king.

"Ah-ha!" said Ron. "See, Harry, I told you that you didn't really win!"

Harry stopped in mid-punch and turned around to look at Ron and the chess set.

Pepper couldn't believe how weird this was getting.

Pepper was lying wide awake in her four-poster. She couldn't get to sleep, though she had been trying for hours. She could hear the buzz of conversation coming from the common room. It wasn't officially her bedtime yet, but to convince Hermione to go to bed early Pepper had to do so herself. Hermione was sound asleep at the moment, which made Pepper very happy.

Pepper rolled over, trying to achieve sleep once more. Just as she was drifting off there was a sharp tap at the window pane. Not wanting the owl that was at the window, (Pepper thought it was probably Cashlinn), Pepper got out of bed quickly. She was very surprised to find that it was not an owl tapping at the window, but a hawk looking bird. It flew into the window in a great rustle of feathers and landed on the back of a chair.

Curious, Pepper took the parchment from its leg and gave in an owl treat. It declined the treat so Pepper shrugged and let it sit there while she read the letter.

_**Pepper, it's Draco. I've got something urgent to tell you. I don't have much time. Meet me in the DADA room at midnight. **_

Pepper looked at the letter in puzzlement. She turned the parchment over; looking for something hidden to pop out at her and tell her it was all a big joke. When she couldn't find one of those she reread the letter again. This couldn't be serious: Malfoy writing her an urgent letter, telling her to meet him somewhere at midnight? Plus he was addressing her by her first name? And why did it always have to be the Defense Against the Dark Arts room? That's where she met with him before...maybe there was something significant about that.

She looked at the clock on her nightstand. She had an hour before Malfoy wanted her to meet him. Pepper wanted to go to see if he was for real, but she didn't really want to go alone. Especially if she got caught...she decided to take Ron and Harry under the Invisibility Cloak.

Careful not to wake her dorm mates, Pepper went down to the common room, where a few Gryffindors, including Ron and Harry, remained. The two boys in question were sitting at a table, finishing up the rest of their homework.

"Harry, Ron, I need your help," Pepper told them, shoving Malfoy's letter in their faces.

They read and reread and read again before looking at her, both of them with a raised eyebrow. "This isn't serious, is it?" said Ron.

"I think it is, which is why I need your help," Pepper said, taking a seat at their table. "If Malfoy really is in trouble, if this really is urgent –"

"Why should you help him? Why would he even be asking you to meet him in the first place? Why would he tell you something urgent?" Harry said, brandishing the letter.

"I have no idea. But I want to find out if this is real. He says he doesn't have much time...I don't want anyone to die, Harry," said Pepper. "And if this really is a joke to get me out wandering the castle at night...well, that's where you guys come in. The three of us need to head down there in the Invisibility Cloak and I get out before we get into the Defense Against the Dark Arts room. You stay under the cloak when we get in there and if Malfoy's just messing with me and tries to hex me or something then you two will be there to back me up. If this is urgent then I'll try to help and if he's not even there then we pray no teachers saw us and we get the heck out of there."

"Sounds good to me," Harry agreed. "How much time do we have?"

"Three quarters of an hour, I think," Pepper told him.

"Should we wake Hermione?" Ron asked.

"No, she needs her sleep. Harry, why don't you go get your cloak and we'll wait for this place to empty..."

"This will be a good opportunity to do the Truth Spell on him, won't it?" said Ron. "Unless he's not there."

"Yeah. I just need to catch him off guard and hope he won't remember what happens in the twenty four hours the spell's on him," Pepper said. "Now let's get this party started."


	30. Chapter 29: Midnight Rendevous

**A/N: **Thanks reviewers! And thank you for all of the middle name suggestions, but I decided on one, which is revealed in the little bit at the end of the chapter. I'm updating again sooner than I thought because I finished this chapter quickly and it's really short. I still like it though!

You know, it's almost Halloween! I have NO IDEA IN HECK WHAT I'M GOING TO BE! Any suggestions?

You know what else it is almost? Election Day! I really hope Kerry wins...I know on November 2nd I'm going to school all Kerry-zised so all the 18 year olds at my school will be moved by my political statement and go vote! I want him to win...I don't want Bush to reinstate the draft and all my friends go off to war! That would be way sad!

Anyway, that was my political paragraph, now it's back to the subject which is now the short story I'll be writing in English class in a week. You know my teacher told us about these short stories 3 weeks ago so mine's already done. And we have a week to work on them in class...hehe...I like to work ahead.

Report cards come out soon and I think I have 100 in all of my classes except for 2! Isn't that SKILL?!?! I think it is. I won't be sure until the darned things come out, but I think that's right. But then again, it's only the first 6 weeks so I have 5 more grading periods to go.

Since I'm filling you all in on my social life I'm going to tell you that I got my hair cut the other day! It's like 3 inches shorter! It almost touches my shoulders! It hasn't been this short in, like, 8 years!

I want to warn you right now that this chapter is very short and the little bit at the end was all Hannah's fault. So there Hannah, I took your cliffhanger suggestion.

My story is over 100,000 words. I want to jump for joy but I have a knot in my shoulder so I won't.

Here's the chapter!

**Chapter Twenty-Nine**

Pepper, Harry, and Ron crept through the teacher-filled hallways, invisible to the eyes of others. Pepper had no idea how Malfoy would have gotten from the dungeons to the Defense Against the Dark Arts room undetected. Unless he really wasn't there and she was just being led on a wild goose chase, in which case Pepper would have to wring his little Slytherin neck.

When they got to the classroom door they checked to see if there was anyone around before Pepper got out from under the cloak. Pushing open the door as silently as she could she discreetly held it open for Ron and Harry before she stepped in herself.

She found the room was lit with one candle which was at the table Malfoy was occupying, in the front of the room. His head was down, and he was straddling the back of a chair, his arms resting on the back of it. Pepper couldn't help noticing how attractive he looked. Shaking the thought from her mind she started walking towards him, hoping Harry and Ron were somewhere nearby.

He heard Pepper's footsteps and looked up. He was very obviously distressed. Pepper took a seat across from him. "Why did you want me here?" she asked quietly, not wanting to make any noise for the teachers roaming the hallways to hear.

"I don't have much time," he said, not in a drawl, but in a strained voice, like it hurt to talk. It was at this point that Pepper became concerned.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"You don't know how hard it is to fight this...Potter would know, though...ask him..." Malfoy said with a weak chuckle.

"What the hell is going on?" Pepper pressed. She didn't want to be here all night listening to him speak in riddles.

"My father...he's put me under the Indirect Imperius Curse. I've been under it for years and I've just begun to fight it," he spoke slowly and with difficulty, as if he had to force each word from his mouth. "Tell Potter and Granger I'm sorry for all the things I've said over the years...it wasn't really me speaking..."

"How does it work?" Pepper asked, realizing that Malfoy wasn't going to be able to fight this Curse off for much longer.

"I'm not sure...it's not like the Imperius Curse where he controls all my actions...he just plants ideas in my head and I have to follow them...though I can do it in my own manner."

"Why did you want to talk to _me_? Why not talk to one of your Slytherin friends about it? They could help you."

"I admire you Pepper, you and Granger both." His eyes locked with Pepper's as he said this, and his head tilted to the side the slightest bit. "All of my "Slytherin friends" have Death Eater parents...I'd bet they're under the same Curse I am. You're the one that can help me...there's something you can do, I know it. You're the daughter of a Charmed one, for Merlin's sake." He lowered his head to look at the dimly lit stone floor.

"How can I do something? I don't even know what the Imperius Curse is. I've never met your father...I don't know how to meet him to get rid of this Curse...I don't know a counter curse..." Pepper's mind was reeling. She couldn't believe this was actually real and that Malfoy chose to share this information with her, of all people. And he was asking her for _help_...why did he even think she would help him? After all he'd done to her...

"There isn't a counter curse," he replied curtly. "Though I'm sure you could come up with one if you really wanted to."

"What do you mean? I can't come up with spell...especially to a Curse as powerful as this one seems to be."

"You're the daughter of a Charmed one," Malfoy repeated. "I've done my homework on your lineage...coming up with spells is what you do, isn't it?"

"Not me...my aunts maybe...what are you getting at? I can't help you, Malfoy!" she was getting frustrated and wanted him to change the subject. Did he really believe she could help him? "Why did your father do this to you, anyway?" she asked, trying to get off her family history.

"He was afraid that I was too soft..." Malfoy chuckled distantly, like he was recalling a memory. Pepper wasn't sure she wanted to know what memory that would be... "He didn't think I was going to make a good heir...knew I didn't agree with what Purebloods were supposed to believe in.

"What kind of father would do such a thing?" Pepper thought aloud.

"He's no father," Malfoy said scornfully.

"Malfoy, I can't relate to this, I can't help you...so again, I ask why you wanted to meet with me," said Pepper.

"I can understand why you're tentative to believe me," Malfoy said. "But –"

The candle that was lighting the room was suddenly blown out and Malfoy stopped talking. Pepper assumed that Harry or Ron had blown it out, but for what purpose she did not know. But the reason was revealed to her soon enough, when she heard footsteps coming down the corridor. Pepper ducked, hiding slightly under the table, and she supposed Malfoy was doing the same.

The classroom door opened and in walked a teacher. There was only a little light coming from the hallway so Pepper could only see the professor's silhouette, but she could still tell that it was Professor Snape. He stood in the doorway for almost a minute before deciding the room was empty and leaving.

Pepper sat up in the chair again, seeing that the room was completely pitch black. Suddenly there was hot breath on her ear as Malfoy whispered, "I'd never hurt you," into her ear. There was that damn shiver down her spine again! Then his lips met with hers in the softest kiss Pepper had ever experienced. It seemed like the kiss was coming from a person totally opposite from Malfoy, whose kisses were usually hard and crushing. But, Pepper realized, this might be the real Malfoy, rid of his evil father's curse for just a few minutes. She decided she liked this Malfoy better.

As soon was the kiss was initiated, it was finished. The room was still dark as pitch, and Pepper was glad because this way no one could see her beat red face. "Why didn't you go to the Headmaster?" Pepper whispered as softly as she could manage, just in case Snape was still lingering outside.

"My father mustn't know I fought it off for a little while," he replied just as softly.

"I'll try to help you," Pepper responded.

"Thanks," Malfoy whispered before getting up and making his way silently out of the classroom.

Pepper banged her head against the stone table in front of her. Was all of that really serious? Did that really happen? Was Malfoy just pulling her leg? It was all very possible, until Pepper thought about the brief kiss they had shared. That had sealed the deal for her and made her realize that Malfoy had been sincere. That fact made her even more confused. She still couldn't work out why Malfoy had to see HER instead of someone else – anyone else.

And what was that comment about not hurting her? Did that mean he hadn't raped her? Did it mean they hadn't really had sex? She hit her head on the table again when she became conscious of the fact that she had missed her chance to cast the Truth Spell and that that opportunity might not come up again. But did she really want to cast it on him now, since he was already under a Curse?

She wanted to know what the Indirect Imperius Curse was all about, so she decided that she'd put Hermione on the job to keep her mind off of the recent passing of her parents. Keeping Hermione busy was the key, Pepper now knew.

So Malfoy really thought she could help him out...Pepper didn't know how to help though. She didn't know Malfoy's father at all, except she gathered the fact that he was a Death Eater. Pepper didn't think the detail about her being the daughter of a Charmed one was very relevant in a situation like this, but apparently Malfoy did, as he kept bringing it up.

"Did you guys hear all of that?" Pepper said into the darkness, wondering where Harry and Ron were.

"Yeah," said Harry, his voice nearer than Pepper thought. Had they seen the kiss she'd shared with Malfoy?

"Where are you?" Ron asked Pepper. He sounded a little dazed; Pepper supposed it was because of all they had just heard come from Malfoy's mouth.

"Over here," Pepper answered, hoping the two of them could follow her voice.

"Where is that, exactly?" asked Ron. There was a loud thump and Ron swore. Apparently he had just run into something.

"Shh!" Harry said. "We don't want any teachers to hear us. Hold on, let's take of the Cloak so we can actually move around." The _swoosh_ of a cloak was heard as it was removed from the two boys. "Now where are you Pepper?"

"Over _here_," Pepper replied. Sighing heavily she stood up from the chair and searched for Ron and Harry. "Where are you guys?" She had confirmation on where they were when she tripped over a chair leg and stumbled, knocking into Harry, who let out a small "Oomph!"

Regaining her balance, Pepper steadied Harry as well. "Ron, come over here right now so we can get the heck out of here. I don't fancy being caught by a teacher tonight. We need to get back to the common room and talk this over," Harry said.

Once Ron made it over to the other two people the cloak was thrown over them and they made their way slowly from the Defense Against the Dark Arts room and back up to Gryffindor Tower, all three of them bursting with questions.

**AMANDA**: And Hannah might have had sex with Ron!

**PEPPER**: What are you talking about?

**HERMIONE**: Yeah, who's Hannah?

**RON**: I DIDN'T HAVE SEX WITH ANYONE!

**HERMIONE**: WHO'S HANNAH?!

**AMANDA**: Oh...well...you don't know her...but I said the chapter had to end in a cliffhanger...and it didn't...so she told me that that had to be the ending... so... er... nevermind...scratch that...

**DRACO**: Is she hot? I'll have sex with her if she is.

**AMANDA**: shakes head You are way too horny.

**HARRY**: Hey, he's a guy, it's what we do.

**PEPPER**: Hence the reason I broke up with you.

**AMANDA**: Besides, I think Hannah fancies Ron, not you Draco.

**HERMIONE** & **DRACO**: WHAT!

**DRACO**: How could she not like me? How can she resist my sexiness?!

**AMANDA**: I dunno.

**PEPPER**: I can't!

**DRACO & AMANDA**: I noticed.

**HERMIONE**: Is this Hannah trying to steal my Ron from me?

**AMANDA**: Yes, I think she is.

**HARRY**: Anyway, he's not yours anymore, remember?

**HERMIONE**: Oh, yea.

**DRACO**: We're destined to be together anyway, Mudblood.

**HERMIONE**: We aren't if you keep calling me that!

**AMANDA**: I definitely agree with Draco. You two are made for each other.

**HARRY**: Except he just went all soft in the last chapter! What was the deal with pouring your heart out to Pepper, anyway?

**DRACO**: Er...I was trying to win over Granger's heart?

**RON**: She wasn't even there FERRET!

**DRACO**: Hey, how do YOU know about it?

**RON**: Um...hey Pepper, weren't you gonna do that Truth Spell on him?

**PEPPER**: Yeah, but I forgot. And Malfoy, what was up with you kissing me?

**HARRY**: He KISSED YOU? How come I didn't see that?!

**DRACO**: It was dark, dumbass.

**AMANDA**: Haha...that's a funny word.

**DRACO**: What, dumbass???

**AMANDA**: Yea.

**DRACO**: You're a dumbass too. I think you and Potter are meant for each other.

**AMANDA**: Perhaps...

**RON**: They're about as meant for each other as Malfoy and Hermione.

**AMANDA**: Oh dear Harry, I think we should start making wedding plans then.

**HARRY**: Ron's gonna end up with Luna...

**PEPPER**: And Harry and Ginny!

**AMANDA**: Hermione and Dracoooooo!

**HERMIONE**: And Pepper and one of Malfoy's Slytherin friends!

**HARRY**: He doesn't have any Slytherin friends.

**DRACO**: Yes I do!

**HARRY**: Who then?

**DRACO**: Blaise Zabini!

**HERMIONE**: Is that a girl or a boy?

**AMANDA**: A boy! J.K. Rowling so said Bliase was male!

**HARRY**: I've only heard his name once!

**RON**: Wait a minute, are you pairing me with Luna Lovegood?!

**DRACO**: Yes, we are, you're a bit late Weasel.

**HERMIONE**: She _does_ have a crush on you Ron.

**RON**: I cannot be paired with Loony Lovegood!

**AMANDA**: Hey! I love Luna! In an online quiz at I got matched with Luna!

**PEPPER**: So are you saying Draco and Hermione are really going to end up together?

**AMANDA**: I said nothing of the sort!

**PEPPER**: AND DOES THAT MEAN I'LL END UP WITH BLAISE ZABINI, WHOEVER THE HELL HE IS?

**AMANDA**: Watch your language, young lady!

**PEPPER**: But Draco swore and you didn't yell at him!

**AMANDA**: That's because I like him better than you and he's hotter than you are!

**PEPPER**: HEY!

**HERMIONE**: Well he IS!

**HARRY**: Are we gonna perform the Féminin Vivreencore Curse even though we're broken up?

**PEPPER**: Who are you asking?

**HARRY**: Amanda.

**AMANDA**: I DON'T KNOW!

**PEPPER**: BUT YOU'RE THE AUTHOR!

**AMANDA**: So? I still don't know everything that's going to happen!

**PEPPER**: Draco was right, you ARE a dumbass.

**AMANDA**: Stop complaining, if it weren't for me you wouldn't even be here.

**PEPPER**: How do you figure?

**AMANDA**: I created you, DUMBASS!

**PEPPER**: Oh...right...

**DRACO**: Can I meet this Hannah?

**AMANDA**: I dunno...is Tom Felton going to Maryland anytime soon?

**DRACO**: Who's Tom Felton?

**AMANDA**: You're double. Anyway, Hannah picked Ron over you already, Draco.

**PEPPER**: I DIDN'T!!!!

**AMANDA**: You're too horny too!

**HERMIONE**: So that makes two horny people and two dumbasses.

**AMANDA**: Three dumbasses.

**HERMIONE**: Really?

**AMANDA**: Yea, me, Harry and Pepper.

**PEPPER**: Why did Hermione cut herself?

**AMANDA**: Because you're a bad influence you bad bad girl!

**PEPPER**: No, really, why?

**AMANDA**: I already told you, dumbass.

**HERMIONE**: Can we PLEASE stop using that word!

**RON**: Sure.**DRACO**: No, dumbass.

**HERMIONE**: face turns red I asked nicely.

**AMANDA**: Yes she did! Be nice Draco!

**DRACO**: No, dumbass.

**HERMIONE**: growls

**PEPPER**: Uh, oh, she's getting mad.

**HARRY**: Malfoy, you're about to face the wrath of Hermione.

**DRACO**: Granger has wrath? I doubt it. She's just an innocent little dumbass -

**HERMIONE**: pummels Draco

**DRACO**: AHH! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!

**HARRY**: We tried to warn him...

**PEPPER**: joins Hermione in beating Malfoy

**AMANDA**: Haha! This is almost as entertaining as Richard beating on Lexi! Okay

people! That's enough! Break it up! Violence is NOT THE ANSWER!

**RON**: Yeah, snogging's the answer!

**AMANDA**: Oh dear Ron, you're going to start a –

**HARRY**: SNOG FEST!

**AMANDA**: Shoot.

**DRACO**, **HERMIONE**, **PEPPER**, **HARRY**: snog each other (the opposite sex!)

**RON**: You know Amanda, you have way too much time on your hands.

**AMANDA**: Naw ah!

**PEPPER**: breaks away from Draco's lips Yes you do.

**AMANDA**: Don't complain, Black! If it weren't for me you WOULDN'T EXIST!

**PEPPER**: getting out of Draco's grasp and going over to Amanda Well tell me something about my parents then! I want to know!

**AMANDA**: Er...they were male and female...?

**PEPPER**: Something I don't know!

**AMANDA**: They weren't married.

**PEPPER**: I knew that too!

**AMANDA**: Really?

**PEPPER**: YEAH!

**AMANDA**: How? I didn't tell you that!

**PEPPER**: My aunts did, dumbass.

**HERMIONE**: DON'T USE THAT WORD!

**AMANDA**: That's weird...

**DRACO**: irritated because the snog fest is over What's weird?!

**AMANDA**: That Pepper knew her parents weren't married.

**DRACO**: You ILLEGITIMATE CHILD! SEE I'M NOT THE ONE RUNNING AROUND WITH ILLEGITIAMTE CHILDREN! YOU'RE THE ILLEGITIMATE CHILD! YOU'RE PARENTS WERE OUT OF WEDLOCK!

**PEPPER**: Wedlock?

**DRACO**: YOU'RE ILLEGAL! YOU MUST LEAVE!

**PEPPER**: I'm not illegal, dumbass.

**DRACO**: Oh, well, that's alright.

**PEPPER**: And why is my name Pepper, anyway? I'm not very fond of that name. Why not something pretty?

**HARRY**: Pepper is a pretty name!

**PEPPER**: Shut up you suck up.

**AMANDA**: Well YOU try coming up with another P name.

**PEPPER**: How about Paris?

**DRACO**: Paris Hilton? She's hot! Is Hannah as hot as her?

**AMANDA**: YOU CAN SHAG HANNAH ANYTIME YOU WANT! SHE'S IN THE DAMN STORY IN ANOTHER FORM!

**DRACO**: What's her name?

**AMANDA**: SADIE MONTGOMERY! Now will you shut up before I kill you?

**DRACO**: You can't kill me, I'm Draco Malfoy.

**AMANDA**: I can too kill you, I'm the ruler of the fanfiction.

**DRACO**: You wouldn't.

**AMANDA**: Try me, dumbass.

**DRACO**: shuts up

**PEPPER**: WHY COULDN'T MY NAME BE PARIS?

**AMANDA**: Because that's what your daughter's name is going to be!

**HARRY**: Not if she marries me!

**HERMIONE**: She's not going to marry you, get over it!

**PEPPER**: Are you like, in love with me Harry?

**HARRY**: _Nooo..._

**RON**: Sure Harry, what ever you say...

**HARRY**: I am NOT! If I was in love it would be with –

**RON**: MOANING MYRTLE!

**PEPPER**: Draco, I want to meet this guy who I'm supposedly getting together with.

**AMANDA**: You're not getting together with anyone! You're going to DIE!

**PEPPER**: BUT YOU JUST SAID MY KID'S NAME IS GOING TO BE PARIS!

**AMANDA**: You're going to go on a blind date, have sex, get pregnant, have a kid, and DIE!

**PEPPER**: Well that's sad.

**DRACO**: Is she going to get killed by DEATH EATERS?!?!?!?!

**AMANDA**: No! Death Eaters won't be around when she dies!

**DRACO**: Unless I'm the one that got her pregnant.

**EVERYONE:** is silent. Stares at Draco in disbelief

**PEPPER**: I still want to meet this guy.

**AMANDA**: Okay, here he is.

**BLAISE**: Who am I getting together with? Why am I HERE!

**PEPPER**: THAT'S BLAISE!?!?!? I could SO get used to this idea...

**AMANDA**: You're not getting together! Pepper's going to DIE!

**DRACO**: So you've planned out our whole lives? Is that it?

**AMANDA**: Er...yes?

**PEPPER**: Like I said, you are a loser with way too much time on your hands.

**AMANDA**: I am not!

**RON**: You're the one with the 189 page story!

**HERMIONE**: You mean brilliant fanfiction.

**RON**: Yes, that.

**PEPPER**: And you're the person who's writing this five page dialogue between you and imaginary people just to put at the end of this chapter!

**HARRY**: You know this thing is longer than the actual chapter?

**AMANDA**: No it isn't! The chapter is about 122 words longer than this! Now I hope you are all aware that I can think of interesting ways for you to die in the next chapter?

**DRACO**, **HERMIONE**, **RON**, **HARRY**, **PEPPER**: Oh yea...

**BLAISE**: I didn't say anything! I'm not even in the story!

**AMANDA**: Just to let you readers know I did this out of sheer boredom for your entertainment...if, in fact, it is entertaining to anyone but me...which I doubt.

**RON**: Aren't you supposed to do that in an author's note?

**AMANDA**: Well, seeing as this isn't the story and I am the author...

**RON**: Right...

**AMANDA**: But this is going to end now, before it really is longer than the chapter.

**PEPPER**: WAIT! I THINK WE ALL NEED TO KNOW MY MIDDLE NAME

FIRST!

**AMANDA**: Fine, it's Lillian. After Harry's mother.

**HERMIONE**: Aww, how sweet of your mother, Pepper.

**PEPPER**: I wanted something more exotic....

**AMANDA**: Shut up you ungrateful lump.

**REAL A/N: **Okay, I liked my chapter but the random thing was just dumb. Though, if you read it there are some clues about what's going to happen in the future of my story. Not all of it will happen, in fact, a lot of it was a load of shite I just did for fun but some of it really will happen. You just have to figure out what's real and what isn't...

By the way Hannah, that was all your fault.


	31. Chapter 30: Not Enough Happens To Have A...

**A/N: **Sorry it took a week to post this rather short (though not as short as the last one) chapter, but this past week has been hell. The hot senior who I've been stalking for the past two months found out I've been stalking him sort of and came and sat next to me at the lunch table...I won't go into detail really...too embarrassing...I was too dumb to say anything to him, though I found out he has his nipples pierced...ew...anyway, that put me into shock for a good three days so I didn't really write at all and then my friend came over for the weekend and everything has been hectic. Therefore, this chapter is just being posted now. My biology teacher just called my house and left a message on the answering machine wanting to know if my parents want a parent/teacher conference...

Has anyone ever heard of Harry and the Potters? Well if you haven't they're a band that sings about things that happen in the Harry Potter books and they're really funny so I think you should get their CDs.

Thanks all you reviewers, I know the thing last chapter was confusing, but I'm not going to explain it, I don't think I CAN, it even confused me. Some things will appear in the story HINT HINT and some of it will not, but you'll see. You all had the greatest reviews so I have lots to say to lots of you...

**allison** **annnnnd meagan: **I'm not a chef...Allison, did I tell you what happened yet? Rico was wrestling with Lexi and he picked her up and swung her over his shoulder...quite entertaining.

**Meera: **shakes head at you Well thought out review...You need to decide when your HP party is so I can COME!

**Zurine:** I so totally agree with you about Hillary and Paris, they suck.

**elise: **I passed the message along and Draco says I'm still hotter than anyone.

**naiya-isis: **Was it really that crazy?!?!? I don't like needles, by the way...

**KrystalK8: **I want presents! I continued!

**charmedsisters: **Pepper's middle name is Lillian. What else are you confused about?

Now for the chappy. Finally. Hope you like it, remember to REVIEW!

**Chapter Thirty**

"You don't believe him, do you?" Ron said. Pepper, Harry, and Ron were all sitting on the couch in the Gryffindor common room, speaking in hushed tones so they wouldn't wake anyone up.

"I dunno..." Pepper said. She wasn't quite sure yet. That seemed like something Malfoy would pull, but his kiss was unlike any she'd ever experienced and his eyes seemed so truthful.

"It sounded like he was being serious," said Harry. "I mean, why would he say all that stuff we could blackmail him with if he didn't mean it all? It doesn't make much sense to me."

"I want to know about the Indirect Imperius Curse and if I really can help Malfoy. If he's telling the truth, that is," said Pepper.

"You actually want to _help_ him?" Ron gaped in disbelief. "After all he's done to us? After all that he's done to _you_? I know, I know, he "apologized" but it wasn't even to you! It was just to Harry and Hermione! How can you forgive him like that! We should just let him suffer; it's his own fault he's in this situation!"

"Ron lower your voice....I never said I was forgiving him for what he's done. I just want to know if there is a way I can help him. Before I try, though, I'll cast the Truth Spell and see if he really is telling the truth," Pepper told a red faced Ron. "But I think he is telling the truth. Like Harry said, why would he tell me that if I could turn it around and throw it in his face? Or I could tell his father to see if it's real and watch Malfoy get murdered or something."

"That wouldn't be such a bad idea," Rom mumbled.

"Oh come on Ron, no one should be under a curse like that," Pepper said.

"We don't even know if the Indirect Imperius Curse exists," Harry pointed out. "We've just been taught that there are three Unforgivable Curses, and the Indirect Imperius isn't one of them."

"Maybe Voldemort made it up or something just for the purpose of Death Eaters controlling their children," Pepper suggested.

"And maybe I'm the Queen of England!" Ron exclaimed. "This is barking mad, I'm going to bed." Ron stormed up the stairs, shaking his head and mumbling all the way.

"So do you actually think this could be real? You really think Malfoy could be telling the truth?" said Harry to Pepper after Ron had gone.

"Yes, I really do," Pepper replied, getting a little tired of voicing her opinion over and over again. "It's just –" Pepper stopped herself before she told Harry about the kiss she had shared with Malfoy.

Harry didn't ask her to continue. The two of them sat there in silence for a moment before Pepper suddenly leaned over and caught Harry in a tight embrace. "I'm sorry, Harry," she said.

He awkwardly hugged her back, surprised by the sudden sign of affection. "For what?" he asked.

"I've been such a bad friend, and here you are, all supportive and helpful and understanding," Pepper said, pulling away slightly and leaning her head on Harry's shoulder. "So, I'm sorry."

Harry wasn't exactly sure what to say so they lapsed into silence once again, Pepper's head still resting on Harry's shoulder.

"So are we going to perform the Féminin Vivreencore Curse? Or are you having second thoughts since we aren't together anymore?" Harry asked finally.

Pepper took a moment to answer. "I think we should still do it," she said.

"Do you think it will still work?" said Harry.

"If we still have feelings for each other I'm sure it will," Pepper told him simply.

"So you still have feelings for me?" asked Harry.

"Of course," said Pepper curtly. "It hasn't been very long since I dumped you, you know. It's only been, like, a day or two. Wow, so much has happened in the past seventy two hours it's amazing..."

Harry, however, didn't want to talk about all that had happened recently. He just wanted to know why Pepper wasn't jumping to take him back since she knew he hadn't cheated on her. "Well I have feelings for you too so why don't we go out..."

"No, Harry. I'm afraid that if we start a relationship again that something else will happen to screw it up. At this point in time I can't ask myself to only have feelings for one boy, it's something I just can't help. And that's not fair to you or me. So I think it's just better that we're just friends and you get yourself some girl who wants you as more than a friend," Pepper explained. "Okay?"

"Sure..." Harry said, though it wasn't okay with him at all. "You aren't having second thoughts about performing the Féminin Vivreencore Curse, are you?" Pepper asked, moving back to the subject they were discussing before.

"Well...yes I have," Harry admitted. Pepper sat up abruptly and Harry rushed to explain himself before she got mad. "I want to see Sirius and everything...it's just...it's so bloody dangerous! We could die or be put into a coma or be injured severely! Do you really want to risk that?"

"Harry I thought you, of all people, would understand. You've lost a lot of people you love in your life and now you have the chance to get one back. Sure, it may be for a mere seventy two hours, but you'd still get a chance."

"But...I don't know Pepper...I don't want you to die."

"I don't want either of us to die, Harry," said Pepper, sighing. "However, I really want to see my dad so I'm willing to take a few risks. Besides, I'm sure nothing will go wrong if we take extra special care on this thing. So are you with me or do you want me to find some way to do it by myself?"

"I'm with you," said Harry a little reluctantly.

"Well when should we start? I think as soon as possible, since the book said the potion takes a few months to complete, and we want it finished by the end of the school year, right?"

"Do you still have the paper with the ingredients and directions on it?" asked Harry, hoping somewhat that she would say no.

"Yes," Pepper replied. "Most of the ingredients aren't in the students' store room, so we need to steal some from Snape."

"I know, I know," said Harry warily, recalling the Polyjuice Potion he had brewed with Ron and Hermione in his second year. This time, of course, he wouldn't be allowed to tell Hermione or Ron about it for fear they would stop the concocting of the potion. Even though he knew he and Pepper had already informed the two they were planning on brewing the potion he was sure they'd forgotten in the recent turmoil. As long as neither he nor Pepper brought up the subject in front of their two friends they were safe.

"We'll just need to come up a distraction...or use the Invisibility Cloak," said Pepper, snapping Harry back from his reverie.

"I don't think it will be too easy to get in there, Pepper," Harry told her. "You see, Hermione broke into his storeroom a few years ago and I'm sure he's put up more protection spells since then."

"Then were will we get them from?" Pepper asked.

"We'll find a way to get the ingredients," Harry assured her, placing his hand on her knee reassuringly.

Pepper looked down at his hand on her knee for a second before looking up at him again and smiling. "Thanks again Harry, you're a great friend."

"I know," said Harry, causing Pepper to hit him playfully.

The next morning before they went down to breakfast, Hermione was filled in on the events of the previous night. She, like Pepper, believed that Malfoy was telling the truth, and she, like Pepper, thought they should research the Indirect Imperius Curse. Ron still thought it was all ridiculous so he focused his mind on that coming afternoon when he could ask Professor Giancarlo about her relation to his brothers.

Malfoy wasn't at breakfast when Harry, Ron, Hermione and Pepper arrived in the Great Hall. Harry and Pepper had come to an unspoken agreement that they wouldn't mention their conversation last night to Ron or Hermione. The four of them ate in silence, though all of their minds were reeling with thoughts.

That afternoon they had another Defense Against the Dark Arts class with their not-as-new professor. Once again the class was instructed to split into groups and work on conjuring corporeal Patronuses. Professor Giancarlo told Ron, Harry, Hermione and Pepper to travel in the groups, helping the people that were having trouble. It seemed to Pepper that quite a lot of people were having difficulties with this lesson. Smirking, she saw that Malfoy and his group were only conjuring wisps of smoke, so she went over there to "help" them.

"Hey Malfoy, having trouble?" she said, standing next to Malfoy as he tried to conjure a Patronus. He wasn't successful, much to Pepper's delight.

"Sod off Halliwell," he retorted, scrunching his face in concentration. To Pepper's surprise she found she was pleased to find Malfoy was back to his normal self and for the millionth time that day she wondered if he had been pulled a fancy charade last night to fool her.

While Malfoy busied himself with trying to conjure a Patronus Pepper stood on the sidelines of the group to observe. She saw that the people around Malfoy were not his usual cronies, Parkinson, Crabbe and Goyle, but two other boys and a girl. She recognized one of the boys, though she couldn't put a name to his face and she didn't think she had ever seen the other two people before. The three of them observed Malfoy attempting to summon a corporeal Patronus as Pepper did.

"Need some help Malfoy?" Pepper asked, smirking again.

"No," said Malfoy angrily. "I thought I told you to shove off." He looked up from the tip of his wand, where a thin line of smoke was unfurling, to Pepper's face. She saw a flicker of something resembling pain cross his face, but as soon as it was there it disappeared. She thought nothing of it and he continued. "Why are you here, anyhow, haven't you got your scar-head of a boyfriend to shag or something? Oh, that's right, you two broke up because Potter shagged another girl."

"That was totally off the subject Malfoy, and even though it's none of your business why I'm here, I'll enlighten you. I'm here because I want to whoop your sorry ass. Sadly, I can't because I would get detention. Plus, Parkinson would probably recruit all of the ugly-ass Slytherin girls to jump me because I ruined your pretty face, so I'm thinking it's not worth the effort." There was a snicker from the cute boy Pepper didn't recognize, and her smirk grew deeper. "Therefore I am here on order of Professor Giancarlo to help you because you seem incompetent to conjure a simple Patronus."

"And I suppose _you _can," sneered Malfoy, trying not to act fazed by Pepper's retort.

"Are you really that dim, Malfoy? Do you really think Professor Giancarlo would send me over to HELP you if I couldn't do it?" said Pepper, raising her eyebrow at him.

Malfoy didn't respond.

"So let's go Malfoy, do you want to fail this class? Chop, chop!" said Pepper, clapping her hands together to get Malfoy to try and embarrass himself by proving her point that he couldn't conjure a Patronus. Malfoy didn't do anything so Pepper turned to one of his friends.

"What about you? Can you conjure a _simple_ Patronus?" she asked the girl, putting her hand on her hip.

The girl smirked back at her. "He fucked you, didn't he?" she said a little maliciously.

Pepper laughed, though it was a nervous sort of laugh. How would she know Pepper had sex with Malfoy? But it would have to be all over Slytherin House, wouldn't it? Malfoy had bedded Harry Potter's girlfriend. It must have been huge news...

"Why would you say that?" Pepper asked the girl whose name she did not know.

"The way you're acting: so malicious and coldhearted. You _are_ a Gryffindor, aren't you?" replied the girl as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Are you kidding me," said Pepper, shaking her head and trying to pretend this notion was ridiculous.

The girl was about to say something when Professor Giancarlo, seeing that something was wrong, came over to the group. "Alana, Draco, Morag, Blaise, Pepper, I trust everything is going well here?" said the Professor looking sternly at them all.

"Actually, Professor," Pepper began, drawing her hand out of her pocket where she had been fingering her wand, "No one seems to be willing to receive any help from me in conjuring their Patronuses, even though they need help." A smirk once again appeared on her face as the four Slytherins looked at her angrily.

"And why might this be, Miss Stoke?" Professor Giancarlo said, turning to face the girl Pepper now knew was Alana, and raising a thin eyebrow expectantly.

"Because Halliwell's being horny," Alana mumbled only for Pepper's ears. Pepper's face instantly turned pink.

"Sorry Miss Stoke, I didn't catch that," said Professor Giancarlo, her voice almost dripping with sarcasm. Pepper had never heard a teacher act like this and she had to fight the urge to giggle.

"I said: because Draco's being stubborn and won't do what Halliwell asks," Alana said, smiling sweetly up at the teacher.

"Well why don't you show us your Patronus, Mr. Malfoy?" prompted Professor Giancarlo.

Just as Malfoy raised his wand, looking murderously at Alana Stoke, there was a flash of orange light which flew across the room and hit the boy who Pepper hadn't recognized, Blaise, straight in the chest and sent him crashing to the ground.

**A/N: **Well, there you go, chapter 30. It really didn't turn out like I thought, but Allison was bugging me to post so I ended in a lovely cliffhanger. Now, press the little lavenderish button and type in the box...

By the way, if any of you have questions or just want a happy Pennsylvanian buddy to talk to you can IM me. I could always use more friends. smile


	32. Chapter 31: Liplocking Longbottom

**A/N: **Oh my gosh. I am on page 200! That's a lot of freaking words! Since this is a monumental moment in Amanda story writing history I'll tell you how many words this story is: 106, 459. Wow. I rule! Well, sort of. I'm so amazed that I actually wrote that much. I think I have way too much time on my hands. It's so amazing...sigh. Yesterday was the four month anniversary of this baby, by the way. Dang, 200 pages in four months! That's, like, 50 pages a month, though in the first week I had done 50 pages...anyway, you don't really care. Now I'd like to thank my first time reviewers, I'm so happy when I realize there are more people reading my story than my usual reviewers, though I love getting reviews from you guys too!

I had no idea Fanfiction was being a butt and was taking out my exclamation point things that separated my beginning author's note to my chapter number to my chapter. Apparently it's been happening for the last 12 chapters or something but I'm too blonde to notice.

Now for some current events in the life of Amanda even though you people probably don't want to hear about them! Yesterday at my church there was a Halloween party for the youth group. Man, it was awesome! I dressed like my black guy friend Rico and man was it funny. I was wearing bling and a jersey and baggy pants and everything. So we go on a haunted hayride and I end up, against my own free will, sitting in a very compromising position with my guy friend who's like my brother but I think he likes me which is SO weird. Then my bestest friend Lexi and I stayed up late in her sleeping bag talking about guys and how they are such guys. Speaking of Lexi her snogging partner has now changed and she actually has a snogging partner. The sad part is his voice is high pitched and I bet he's not as cool or as Draco Malfoy looking as the other one. But I bet you really don't care so I'll get on with the story.

By the way, **Zurine**, I know about 5 Richards from PA but none from Virginia.

And if anyone would happen to want to IM me my IM is Twizzlergal613. Smiles! Now READ AND REVIEW!

**MAJOR PROPS AND THANKS TO MEAGAN FOR REALLY HELPING ME WITH THIS CHAPTER! **

**Chapter Thirty-One**

"Blaise!" Alana Stoke shrieked, bending over the buy's unconscious form. Professor Giancarlo whirled around to face the class, and Pepper saw she was struggling to keep her wand in her pocket.

"Who was it?" she barked at the class fiercely. The class was silent, and Pepper wanted someone to admit it before the Professor went off on everyone and they all ended up with detention, or worse. "Get Mr. Zabini to the Hospital Wing," the teacher said to Alana, though she still faced the class. "Pepper, help her."

The class remained silent as Pepper mumbled "Wingardium Leviosa," to ensure she and Alana could manage carrying Zabini to the Hospital Wing, and exited the classroom.

"Evil bastards," Alana said as soon as they were out in the hallway. "How you can get some sort of Stunning Spell from 'Expecto Patronum' is beyond me." She sounded angry and Pepper suspected she and Blaise Zabini were boyfriend and girlfriend. "Did you see who did it, Mudblood?"

"I'm not a Muggle born," Pepper replied coldly. "And no, I didn't see who did it. Otherwise I would have said something to Professor Giancarlo. I can't believe they're too dim to admit they did it. Now I bet everyone'll get punished. Thickheads."

"Why would someone do something like this?" Alana wined.

Pepper ignored her. "Why have I never seen you before?" she suddenly thought aloud.

"I'm a year behind you," Alana complied.

"And why have I never seen HIM before?" Pepper asked, indicating Blaise with the hand that wasn't holding her wand.

"You don't pay attention," Alana said matter-of-factly. "Or perhaps you spend too much time paying attention to Draco..." She smirked knowingly.

"So are you friends with Malfoy or something?" Pepper continued, ignoring Alana once again.

"Yes, Blaise is Draco's best friend...but I s'pose we're not as high up with him as you are. After all, you are his little Mudblood."

Pepper almost dropped the wand that was holding up Blaise in her anger. "I am NOT Malfoy's little Mudblood! I'm not a Mudblood!"

Another smirk grew on Alana's face. She had touched a nerve and she knew it. Plus, in Pepper's anger she had forgotten to correct Alana on the first part of her comment...

"And I am NOT Malfoy's!" Pepper added, realizing what she had just done. Now Alana was definitely going to get the wrong idea.

"There's no need to hide it Halliwell; all of Slytherin knows you fucked him." Alana's remark went unanswered because they came to the door of the Hospital Wing. Pepper just tried to ignore her a third time, but she couldn't help wondering if Alana was telling the truth.

Upon their entrance into the Hospital Wing Madam Pomfrey rushed over to them and interrogated them on what had happened to Blaise while she took Pepper's wand and made him comfortable on a bed. They told her everything she needed to know and then the medi-witch ushered them out, telling them to go back to class. Alana was somewhat frantic, almost begging to stay by Blaise's side, but Madam Pomfrey wouldn't have it. So Pepper had to escort a wining fifth year back to Defense Against the Dark Arts.

"Do you think he'll be okay?" Alana asked Pepper.

Pepper thought it was a bit ironic that just a minute ago Alana had been insulting her and now she thought Pepper would try to console her. "I dunno," said Pepper, deciding not to be too cruel but not too nice either.

"I hope he's all right," Alana said. "Though a student probably couldn't perform a deadly curse, so I'm sure it'll be fine."

"Yeah," said Pepper, her mind not on the subject. She was thinking about lying Slytherins...and if none of them really were lying then she was screwed.

"I don't want to go to class, I'm afraid of what we'll find there," said Alana. "What do you say we just go back to our common rooms?"

"You mean skip class?" said Pepper skeptically.

"No one will know. Professor Giancarlo told us to go to the Hospital Wing so she'll never know we wouldn't have to be there all period. And I can't have you go back to class alone."

"No way, Stoke. Personally, I don't want to face the wrath of Professor Giancarlo for skipping class. If you want to, go ahead, but you're on your own," said Pepper.

When the two girls arrived back in the Defense Against the Dark Arts room they found all was silent. Professor Giancarlo was sitting at her desk, scribbling furiously on a piece of paper, and Ivi Spada was standing next to the desk, sneering. All of the students were sitting in their seats, not daring to make a sound. Professor Giancarlo looked up at Alana and Pepper as they entered the room.

"I trust Mr. Zabini will be all right," said the professor.

"We're not sure," Pepper replied. She thought her voice sounded strange in the too-quiet classroom. "Madam Pomfrey kicked us out to tend to him."

"I trust he will be all right," said the professor again. It sounded to Pepper that she was trying to reassure Alana, who looked rather sad. Professor Giancarlo then looked past Alana and Pepper to the rest of the class, to which she said "Seeing as we're not going to learn anything else today, class is dismissed. Do NOT expect this to happen often." The class filed out of the room, still silent, Pepper the last to leave. As she turned the corner to exit the classroom she caught Ivi Spada standing there, looking extremely smug.

"So it was Spada that hit him?" Pepper asked her three friends as they made their way back to the Gryffindor common room.

"Yeah, after you left all hell broke loose...Professor Giancarlo started yelling and Sadie Montgomery gave Spada away," Ron explained.

"What spell did she cast?" Pepper asked. "And why would she do that to another Slytherin?"

"It wasn't a very bad spell," Hermione said. "At least, that's what Professor Giancarlo thinks. _Sona_ _Periodo_, I think she called it. I think she did it to Zabini because they'd gone out and he cheated on her."

"Oh, yea, I remember hearing about that," Pepper recalled.

"How would you hear about Slytherin news like that?" Ron asked, skeptical.

"The girl network. Bad news travels fast, Ron, and girls talk a lot. News gets passed from house to house like wildfire," said Hermione knowingly.

"Whatever..."

Hermione decided she didn't want any dinner, so Pepper, Harry and Ron left her in the common room in the company of Neville Longbottom and they went down to dinner themselves. Pepper wasn't worried about Hermione since she had someone to watch over her, (though Neville hadn't heard about the incident), so she enjoyed her dinner and talked and laughed with Harry and Ron. She knew Harry was having trouble not telling Ron about the Féminin Vivreencore Curse, and she almost told him that he could tell Ron, but thought better of it at the last moment. It was better if no one knew of their plans. Besides, everyone already had enough to worry about.

"So what are you two going to do about that curse?" Ron asked.

Pepper was slightly taken aback. She thought Ron had forgotten all about that in recent events. Or perhaps he was talking about the Indirect Imperius... "You mean the thing Malfoy's under?" she asked.

"No, the other one," said Ron. "The one with the kiss and the spell..."

"Oh." Pepper shot a glance at Harry, who looked nervously back at her. Unfortunately, Ron saw this and broke out into a half-smile.

"You're going to perform the spell, aren't you. Because you still really like each other and you can't stand not kissing each other..."

"Shut up!" Pepper said, smiling and hitting Ron on the arm. Ron broke out into laughter.

"No, really, are you going to do it?" Ron inquired, his laughter subsiding.

"Dunno," Pepper shrugged, turning back to her dinner.

"And what are you going to do about the other curse?" Ron asked. "Help Malfoy?"

"I don't think so," Pepper answered. "I don't think there will be a way I could help him. Though if we find something in our research..."

"No way," Ron shook his head. "Remember all the stuff he's made us put up with, Pepper."

"I know...but remember what _I_ said the other night, Ron. I'm not _that_ evil that I'd really let him continue with that torture. Plus you guys said that Malfoy's father is a Death Eater, right? Well then he could tell Malfoy to kill people or something."

"It's probably not even _real_, Pepper," said Ron.

"I know what you think, we've been over this. I just want to find out the facts and then we can go from there," Pepper said with a small sigh. "So can we please move on?"

They left dinner early and headed back to the common room. On the way Ron tried to bring up the subject of Malfoy again but Pepper wouldn't discuss it with him anymore. He was still bugging her about it when Harry said the password and they went into the common room, but the subject was dropped immediately after they saw what had been going on in their absence.

Hermione and Neville were sitting on one of the Gryffindor couches looking rather cozy indeed. Neville had his arms around Hermione's waist, hers were around his neck and their lips were locked.

"WHAT ON EARTH DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING!" shouted Ron. Neville and Hermione immediately pulled apart. Hermione's face was very flushed and Neville looked like he wanted to disappear into the floor. Luckily there wasn't anyone else in Gryffindor Tower to see this.

"Who do you think you are?" Ron shouted at Neville, who's face turned crimson from embarrassment. Ron's was turning a similar color of red, but out of anger. "What do you think you are doing trying to get some from my..." Ron couldn't think of the right word to finish the sentence.

"Your what, Ron? I'm not _your_ anything! I am perfectly entitled to do whatever I want!" Hermione retorted.

This made Pepper laugh. "You wanted Neville? Bit of a downgrade isn't it?" she chuckled quietly.

"STAY OUT OF IT!" Ron and Hermione said at the same time. Harry shot Pepper a dirty look.

"My FRIEND, Hermione. You're my friend!" said Ron.

"That's not what you were going to say Ronald, and you know it!" Hermione said.

"How would you know? What were you doing with him anyway!" Ron yelled.

"You left me here with him, remember? We started talking and I told Neville how stressed I was, so he was trying to make me feel better, unlike SOME people I know! One thing led to another and I kissed him!" Hermione explained.

"You kissed him! After you dumped me and told me about how you didn't want to be in a relationship right now? I can't believe this!" Ron turned on his heel and stormed up to his dormitory.

"I'll go talk to him," said Neville quietly, looking down at the carpet which was as red as his face.

"I don't think he'll want to talk to you mate, why don't you let me handle it?" asked Harry. Neville opened his mouth to protest but then thought better of it and nodded, leaving Harry to go talk to Ron.

"Ron, you know, you two were never really together..." Harry called up to the dormitory as he made his way up the staircase.

"What were you two thinking?" Pepper said rounding on Hermione and Neville after Harry had disappeared up the steps to the boys' dorms.

"Pepper, don't you start on me," said Hermione, eyes flashing. "I can do whatever I please."

"I'm sorry," mumbled Neville.

"Don't be sorry, Neville," snapped Hermione. "I kissed you first because I wanted to. You've no reason to be sorry." Hermione turned back to Pepper. "It's none of your business, anyway," she said.

"Damn right it isn't. Hermione, I'm your friend and I'm Ron's friend, which makes it my business twice over. You hurt Ron so I'm worried about him. You care about Ron but you kissed Neville, and you're really vulnerable right now, so both of those things make it my business."

Hermione looked warningly at Pepper. "Why don't you just let me do what I want, Pepper, I'm a big girl and I can take care of myself."

"Hermione," said Neville, raising his head to look at her. "Aren't you grateful that you have Pepper as a friend? I mean, she obviously cares about you, and it's great to have friends like her."

Hermione looked at Neville thoughtfully before a smile curled on her lips. At that moment Harry came down the stairs, rolling his eyes. "How stubborn can you get?" he murmured under his breath.

"I expect it didn't go too well," Pepper asked.

"Not exactly," replied Harry. "Ron won't listen to anything I have to say. He's really irked, I'm afraid he's going to do something rash."

"He's a stubborn git! I don't think that he should be acting like this at all. It's not like Ron and I were together officially to begin with," said Hermione. "So he'll just have to get used to this because Neville has already asked me to go to Hogsmeade with him next month."

"So you're saying you'll go with me, then?" asked Neville hopefully.

"Certainly," Hermione replied, a prim smile on her face. Harry and Pepper exchanged disappointed glances. They were both upset about Hermione and Neville; they knew that Hermione and Ron cared for each other a great deal and they were meant to be together.

"Um...Harry," said Pepper, becoming slightly uncomfortable because Hermione and Neville were looking fondly at each other, "Why don't we go and take a walk?"

"Sounds good to me," Harry replied, grateful that Pepper had made that suggestion, as he was growing uncomfortable as well.

Neither of them intended to do much walking, however, because once they were down the hallway from the Fat Lady's portrait, they stopped and turned around so they were facing each other.

"Pepper, I think we should really start the potion as soon as possible. Things are getting really around here, what with the conspiring chess pieces and a supposedly good Malfoy and Slytherins cursing each other, and I think Sirius would be able to help out."

"I thought I was the only one that felt Sirius could help us. I guess great minds think alike, or feel, or something," said Pepper, stunned that Harry had felt the same thing she had. "Or maybe we have some sort of bond, being soul mates and all."

"Yeah..." said Harry. He had been eager to forget that he and Pepper were soul mates after she dumped him and apparently she had been too, because she said those two words with hesitation. "Pepper, I think we're going to need Hermione's help with this potion. No offense, you're smart and all, but Hermione's _really_ good at potions."

"She's still trying to get over her parents death, though. She won't be any help at all unless she's really happy. Maybe we should get her to see a physiatrist or something. Because at this point the only way we can make her even come close to being happy is..." Pepper looked at Harry with a mischievous grin.

"That's right," Harry said, smiling as well. "We've got to get her and Ron together, and we've got to do it quick. You know as well as I do that Ron loves her and Hermione cares for Ron. She and Neville just aren't meant to be."

"I totally agree," said Pepper. "So, do you have any ideas on how to show Hermione that Neville isn't worth her time?"

"Not one. But I'll keep thinking. I'm sure we'll come up with something," said Harry. "Though, it would be best if we did it by, say, tomorrow."

"Once again, I agree," Pepper said. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Malfoy strutting down the hallway, but he was alone. She thought this would be the perfect opportunity to cast the Truth Spell on him to see what was really going on once and for all.

"Harry, why don't you go back into the common room while I take care of some unfinished business..." Pepper suggested.

"Sure," Harry said, seeing Malfoy as well.

Harry gone, Pepper walked casually over to Malfoy. "Why are you here?" she asked him, narrowing her eyes in suspicion.

"Taking a walk," Malfoy replied indifferently.

"Well while you're conveniently up here by the Gryffindor common room, do you care to inform me what exactly is going on?" she inquired.

"What are you talking about?" he said.

"Don't play dumb with me, Malfoy," Pepper sneered, and then remembered her plan. "For those who want the truth reviled/ Open hearts and secrets unsealed/ From now until it's now again/ After which the memory ends," she said quickly before he could realize what was happening. "Okay, Malfoy," she said menacingly. "Since I'm in charge now, I'd like you to tell me if you really are under the Indirect Imperius Curse."

"Yes," Malfoy answered before he could even register the question. A suspicious look immediately appeared in his face. "What the hell did you do to me?" he asked coldly.

"Cast a Truth Spell," Pepper answered automatically. She quickly put a hand over her mouth. Oh shit, she thought, it's a consequence...the spell was cast on both of us.

It seemed that Malfoy realized what happened, because he smirked at her. "So your little spell affects both of us then, does it?" he said. Pepper was forced to say yes. She wanted to get all her questions in before he started firing them at her, but he seemed to have the same idea she did. "So you enjoy snogging me, Halliwell?" he said. Pepper, once again, had to answer in the affirmative.

That said, he pushed his smirking lips onto Pepper's, kissing her in his usual way which was much different from the kiss they had shared the other night. Before she let her hormones take over and she kissed him back, she put her hands on his chest and pushed him away. She figured his idea was to keep her mouth busy and she wasn't going to let his plan work.

Before he could start in on her again she said, "Why do you care that I'm the daughter of a Charmed One?"

"You can help me get rid of the Indirect Imperius Curse," he answered. He almost got a question out but Pepper cut him off. "Did your father have anything to do with the Death Eater attack on Hermione's village?"

"I don't know," he said.

"Are you really sorry about all that you've done to Harry and Hermione?" Pepper asked.

Malfoy was getting annoyed now, and she could tell he was trying not to answer her question, but the spell made him do it. "Yes," he answered through gritted teeth. Pepper started chuckling, but she had stopped speaking too soon because that gave Malfoy an opportunity to talk. "Why did you cast this bloody spell?" he asked.

Pepper was relieved that this question wasn't very personal and could reveal many embarrassing things about her. "I wanted to know the truth about a few things. Did you rape me?"

"No," he answered. "I told you I didn't before, right? I didn't need to. Why, are you pregnant?"

"I don't know," she replied. "I hope not, though. Do you know that we're related?"

"No," he said, looking very appalled. "We're related? I'm related to a bloody Mudblood?"

"Yes, we're related," she said. "And I'm not a Mudblood." Pepper realized that he could ask her what Pureblood family she was from, a question she really didn't want to answer. She would just have to keep pelting questions at him. "Why are you always in the Defense Against the Dark Arts room?"

It was evident that Malfoy really didn't want to answer this question. "I've been meeting Ginny there," he replied quietly, though Pepper still heard him loud and clear.


	33. Chapter 32: The Tactics Of Malfoy

**A/N: OMGOSH. I am SO sorry I haven't updated in a month. This great block of writer's block came on and it wouldn't go away until…well today. So this is a really really short chapter and I'm sorry but I've got the writing bug back and I'll post a lot more regularly again. Thanks for all the reviews, you guys really encourage me to keep writing and I love it. So keep up the reviews, I hope I haven't lost any readers…**

**I LOVE YOU GUYS!**

**Here's chapter 32. Finally.**

**Chapter Thirty-Two**

"You WHAT?!" Pepper shrieked. "You better hope that you're not talking about the same Ginny I think you're talking about, Malfoy, or you're a goner for sure! Just you _wait_ until Ron hears about this—" Pepper was cut off by Malfoy, who suddenly shoved her roughly against the wall and covered her mouth with his hand. His legs were on either side of her legs and his other hand had one of her hands up against the wall. He let go of her mouth and held her other hand against the wall as well.

"Don't utter a word of that to anyone, especially Weasley, or you'll be sorry, Mudblood," he said threateningly. Pepper struggled under his grasp and glared at him.

"You just like touching me, don't you Malfoy? That's why you always catch my off guard like this," she said, wondering what the Truth Spell would make him say.

"Yes," he responded through narrowed eyes and gritted teeth.

She smiled sweetly at him. "Of course you do," she said. "So Malfoy, I'd like to know why I shouldn't tell anyone about this…"

"Ron stop being so stubborn!" Harry glared at the recently-closed velvet hangings around Ron's bed. "I'm sure Hermione didn't mean it! I bet she's as in love with you as you are with her!"

Ron flung back the hangings and they squeaked on the bar they were hanging from. His face and ears were bright red. "I'm not in love with Hermione!" he exclaimed, looking around as if he expected someone else to hear him.

"Yes you are Ron, and you know it," said Harry.

Ron glared at his friend before retreating back into his bed hangings. Harry sighed. He strode over to the dormitory door and was about to open it when it swung open for him and Neville came in, panting. "Hermione told me to come get you!" At Neville's voice, Ron poked his head out of the curtains once again. He made to rush at Neville but Neville held up his hands and said, "Malfoy's got Pepper in the hallway… looks like he's going to curse her or something!"

Ron, Harry and Neville rushed out of the dormitory, down the stairs and into the common room, where Hermione was waiting anxiously. "I didn't want to attack him on my own…he could overpower me in a second," she said. "I just hope he hasn't done anything to Pepper…"

They followed Hermione out into the hallway, where she led them to Malfoy, who was holding Pepper up against the wall. Malfoy was glaring at Pepper, gritting his teeth, and Pepper had a forced smile on her face. It was obvious they had gotten into some sort of scuffle, but Malfoy, being stronger than Pepper, had gotten the better of her and now she was trying to win with words.

Upon seeing the situation, Harry and Ron ran up to Malfoy and pulled him violently off of Pepper, pinning him to the opposite wall with their wands. "Don't move an inch, Malfoy, or we'll hex you into bits," Ron threatened.

But Malfoy wasn't paying any attention to Harry or Ron; he was looking past them, at Pepper. She was smirking, and he knew what she was about to do. "Don't you DARE, Halliwell," he growled.

"Sure, Malfoy, I'm really going to do what you say…hey Ron, I think Malfoy has something to tell you," said Pepper, smiling so wide at Malfoy that all of her teeth were showing.

"Halliwell, why are you such a bitch?" Malfoy glowered at Pepper.

"Because it's fun," answered Pepper truthfully. "So Malfoy, why you're always hanging out by the Defense Against the Dark Arts room?"

"I've been meeting Ginny there," Malfoy was forced to say.

Ron's wand nearly went up Malfoy's nose. "What did you say, Malfoy?" Ron hissed angrily. The wands of Harry and Ron were a lot closer to Malfoy, who gulped, trying to make his forced answer go back down his throat.

"I've been meeting Ginny there," he repeated.

Without any hesitation, Ron pulled back his fist and punched Malfoy in the jaw. Everyone else, except Pepper, was standing there with their mouths wide open in surprise. "Get Ginny, now," Ron said threateningly to anyone who would take his order. Hermione turned around and sprinted down the hallway towards the portrait hole. "You had better be kidding me, Malfoy," said Ron.

"He can't, Ron, I put the Truth Spell on him," said an extremely satisfied Pepper. "But I think he did something to Ginny, there's no way she would be in a relationship with him by her own free will."

Malfoy was having a hard time not reaching up to massage his jaw, which was bruising quickly. But he couldn't exactly move, with two wands pointed at him. He knew that if he made one move curses would be flying in his direction. If he could just get to his wand…As a distraction he said, "Go ahead, ask me what I did to your precious Weaselette."

"What the bloody hell did you do to Ginny?" Ron said.

"Nothing," said Malfoy murderously, glaring evilly at Ron.

"Are you being _told_ to do something to Ginny? Is it the Indirect Imperius?" Pepper asked Malfoy before Ron could do something really rash that he would undoubtedly regret.

"No," said Malfoy, still trying to get at his wand.

Hermione appeared in the corridor with a scared looking Ginny at her side. As soon as Ron turned his attention from Malfoy to Ginny, Malfoy grabbed his wand from the pocket of his robe and turned the tables on them all: Ron, surprised, was now caught up against the wall with Malfoy's wand at his throat.

"Go on, Ginny, tell them everything," he growled.

Ginny gulped as Pepper, Malfoy, Hermione, Ron, Neville and Harry all focused their eyes on her. "Tell them what?" she squeaked.

Malfoy's eyes narrowed dangerously, though Pepper could see a slight softness in them, as if he was just teasing.

Ginny seemed to be comforted by the fact that Malfoy had her brother in a death grip, so she opened her mouth to speak. "I've been seeing Draco," she said clearly, trying to hide the fear and apprehensiveness she was feeling.

Ron struggled with all his might to get out of Malfoy's grasp. It was apparent that Harry was extremely miffed, and as he tried to approach Malfoy, (who just shoved his wand closer to Ron's throat), Ginny held up her hand. "Wait," she begged before any of the six people in the corridor could do anything to hurt someone. "It's been by my own free will. He hasn't done anything to me. There's a side of him you don't know…" Malfoy wasn't too comfortable with Ginny sharing this information with the contents of the hallway, that much was certain. "You guys should just give him a chance…"

"We have, Gin," said Harry heatedly. "Six _years_ of chance."

"Well then forget you ever knew! He hasn't done anything to me, I can promise you that, Ron," Ginny assured him.

"Ginny, how long, exactly, have you been "seeing" Malfoy?" Pepper wondered. She could tell Malfoy knew what was coming next, and she suppressed a wicked grin as he stared warningly at her, wide-eyed. "Was it before he got me drunk and I woke up in his bed?"

Ginny and Malfoy both had a sharp intake of breath. "What?" said Ginny softly.

"Yes it was," Malfoy said, forced to answer because Pepper's question was out in the air and he had heard it. He almost let go of Ron at the look on Ginny's face: it was one of great shock, torment and anger. "Gin, it's not what you think—"

Ginny didn't stay to listen. She turned sharply on her heel and stormed off down the corridor and back into the Gryffindor common room. Hermione followed Ginny wordlessly, leaving the four boys and Pepper alone.

"You" – Pepper pointed at Malfoy – "Go back down to your dormitory. We'll all deal with you later. To her surprise, he obeyed. It was probably due to the withering stare she shot in his direction. Before Ron, Harry, or Neville could strike Malfoy from behind she ordered them all to stay put. "This is what we're going to do," she said, looking at Ron, who was clenching and unclenching his fists. His face was bright red and he was grinding his teeth. Harry didn't look too much different, nor did Neville. "We're NOT going to overreact here, though I think we're all going to have problems with that." Pepper was trying not to start yelling and screaming and going to beat up Malfoy and Ginny. "Now, _I'm_ going to talk to Ginny…we've got to sort this all out. You guys should go to sleep or something…I dunno…but don't get involved just yet."

To Pepper's great astonishment, no one argued with her. She headed back to the common room, sighing, to face Ginny and Hermione and learn about Ginny's relationship with the person who took her virginity.


	34. Chapter 33: January: Time Passes

**A/N: I'm trying to make up for all of the time I lost writing short stories while I had writers block…Thanks for all of your lovely reviews! This chapter is really short but it should be because it just explains things and hurries time along. **

**Enjoy. Remember to review!**

**Chapter Thirty-Three**

Once Pepper, Hermione and Ginny had all calmed down considerably, they commenced their discussion. It lasted all night and into the morning, and by the time it was done they had everything cleared up. All necessary tears had been shed, the affair Malfoy had apparently had been having with Pepper was discussed, arguments had progressed, the Slytherin-Slytherin rivalries were being contemplated, as was Hermione's new relationship with Neville, her old one with Ron and Pepper's old relationship with Harry, feelings were talked about and the main conclusion of the whole ordeal was that Malfoy was still scum, (though he was under a Curse after all), and all three of them were left relationshipless and they planned for it to stay that way. Hermione decided that she was still going to go with Neville to Hogsmede, though, because she wanted to "explore her options." Ginny and Pepper didn't want to get into another argument, so they kept silent.

Ginny, Hermione and Pepper drank lots of coffee at breakfast to make up for their lack of sleep. When Ron and Harry finally drifted over to the Gryffindor table Ginny and Hermione were ready to talk to them both. Pepper knew both of them wanted to speak first, so as the two boys sat down Pepper put a Silencing Charm on them. Ron started yelling but no sound was coming out. He saw Pepper was waving her wand gleefully and he glared at her. "Let Hermione and Ginny speak first, Ron," she said, smiling.

"Hermione, Pepper and I had a wonderfully long conversation last night, Ron," said Ginny. "We talked about everything strange that's been going on, including the relationship I've been having with Draco,"—at this Ron's face became very red, but Ginny went on—"And the relationship Hermione might get into with Neville." Ron looked even angrier than before. "We've decided that, owing to recent circumstances that weren't brought to my attention, that I'm to break it off with Draco. Hermione, on the other hand wants to pursue her new-found feelings for Neville and we'll see how it goes."

"So that's what we've decided and you'd better be happy about it," said Hermione sternly.

Pepper removed the Silencing Charm and Harry and Ron both just sat there for a moment, not saying a word. Then finally Ron said, "I'm glad you've decided to stop seeing Malfoy, Gin, though I'm not sure why you started something with him in the first place." Pepper noted that he chose not to say anything about Hermione's decision about Neville.

The rest of January seemed to fly by at Hogwarts.

Ivi Spada was set in front of the Wizengamot, tried, and found guilty of inflicting an Unforgivable Curse on Blaise Zabini. Thus, she was expelled from Hogwarts and thrown in Azkaban. The only thing she regretted, she said, was not being able to curse her friend Sadie Montgomery as well, because she was the one that ratted her out. She went to the prison much the same way Sirius Black had – laughing manically.

Blaise Zabini survived, though he spent most of the month in the Hospital Wing in some sort of a coma. Madam Pomfrey tended to him the whole month, certain he would wake because students hadn't enough hatred to inflict an Unforgivable. Alana Stoke spent every day in the Hospital Wing and many Slytherins visited Blaise. A few Gryffindors, (including Pepper), who had seen the incident in the Defense Against the Dark Arts room, ventured out to visit him as well. Pepper spent more time by his bed than any other Gryffindor because she had become some form of friends with Alana Stoke, though she wouldn't admit it out loud to anyone.

The only person who rivaled Alana in visits to Blaise was Draco Malfoy. It seemed as if he didn't care at all about Ginny's breaking up with him. He spent most of his time at his best friend's bedside and screwing Sadie Montgomery. He still found time to harass the Gryffindors, though he carefully avoided Ginny. Ginny seemed to be heartbroken because he wasn't showing any signs of remorse so Pepper and Hermione had to try and console her, telling her that it was the curse making him so coldhearted and uncaring. Malfoy didn't try anything else with Pepper, much to the delight of Pepper and her friends.

Harry was especially happy about this fact, as he had had two more dreams about Voldemort and he was worried about Malfoy's association with the Death Eaters. He had been watching Malfoy and Neville closely too see what effect they each had on Pepper and Hermione. He and Pepper had been working on a plan to get Hermione and Ron back together and he, Harry, had been working on a plan to get himself back together with Pepper. Both plans had been in vain so far. The Féminin Vivreencore Curse was another issue dealt with by Harry and Pepper…

Pepper spent the month reading the letters her aunts had sent her. She read through all of them greedily, wanting to know more about her parent's relationship, and then she read them again. She tried to forget about what happened with Malfoy during holiday break, but, truth be told, she kind of missed the playful shenanigans that occurred between the pair of them. She was working on the plan to break Hermione and Neville up, but they seemed to be growing closer instead of farther apart and their Hogsmede trip was still on for Valentine's Day weekend. She and Harry had started gathering supplies for the Féminin Vivreencore potion. They stored the ingredients in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom – a bathroom which Pepper had once made the mistake of trying to use. It was difficult for Pepper to keep her and Harry's intentions a secret, but it was what had to be done. She also spent time in the Hospital Wing, visiting Blaise Zabini. When she got the news that Ivi Spada had cast an Unforgivable Curse on him she doubted he would live, as did Alana Stoke, and she started spending more time in the hospital with an anxious Alana. They weren't exactly friends, but they weren't enemies either. Pepper had also been noticing that Harry was trying to get her back by means of flirting and being nice. Pepper wasn't falling for it and she hoped Harry could see that so she wouldn't have to say anything to him. She and Hermione did some research on the curse Malfoy was under but didn't find anything at all and decided that he could help himself. After all, he cheated on their friend and he didn't deserve their help.

Hermione spent January being rather worried. She worried about her relationship with Neville that was getting increasingly more intense, though they hadn't really kissed at all since the night in the common room when they got caught; she worried about Pepper's relationship with Harry and the curse they wanted to perform; she worried about Ginny and how she was dealing with her breakup with Malfoy; she worried about herself getting over the death of her parents and trying to move on; she worried about Pepper still keeping all of the sharp corners covered and sharp objects out of their room; she worried about Blaise Zabini; she worried about Voldemort. To get her mind off of some of her worries she began studying for exams.

They were all waiting for the bad to pass and hoping something good would come their way. None of them were prepared for what was to come.


	35. Chapter 34:Too Much Happens For A Title

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**A/N: Again with the long wait, I know, and I'm sorry! My stupid life is too busy! Thanks for all the reviews! **Lady Emerald Black**, I have to agree with you with the Hermione/Ron pairing thing. I'll try and write faster but lately I've had so much going on it's just impossible! **

**Here's chapter thirty-four! **

**Chapter Thirty-Four**

"Hermione, it's not here," said Pepper worriedly, her voice slightly muffled by the wall of the toilet stall. She and Hermione were in the first floor bathroom doing last minute preparations for the Hogsmede trip occurring this afternoon.

"What's not here?" said Hermione a bit absentmindedly as she applied a little blush to her cheeks the way Pepper had taught her to. Her mind was on the Hogsmede trip. It was the weekend before Valentine's Day and she was going with Neville on their first real date.

"My period," Pepper replied.

"Was it supposed to be here today?" Hermione asked, opening the tube of mascara and putting the brush to her eyelashes.

"No, it was supposed to be here almost a week ago," said Pepper irritably.

Hermione's mouth made an "O" as she worked with the mascara brush and she said, "So? You may just be irregular this month."

"I'm never irregular, Hermione," cried Pepper, opening the door of the stall and coming to stand next to Hermione, who put the mascara wand back in its tube.

"You don't think you're pregnant, do you?" asked Hermione quietly. When Pepper didn't answer Hermione's eyes grew wide. "You do think you're pregnant?"

"I dunno," responded Pepper softly.

"We should go check with Madam Pomfrey," said Hermione urgently.

"After Hogsmede," Pepper told her, knowing Hermione would rather Pepper go now but also knowing how important this trip was to Hermione.

Hermione obviously had no problem leaving Pepper to walk the streets of Hogsmede with Harry and Ron. As soon as they had come to the wizarding town she and Neville had taken off. So Pepper, Harry and Ron began meandering through the shops. Harry and Pepper had to listen to Ron complain about Hermione and Neville's relationship, as usual, until they hit the Quidditch shop. Pepper pretended to be interested in the Quidditch supplies as she strolled through the store, picking up objects, but her mind was really on the subject of her possible pregnancy.

Coming up behind Pepper, Harry put a hand on her shoulder. Pepper jumped, startled, and turned around to look at Harry. "What's wrong Pepper? You seem very distracted today" Harry asked.

"Nothing," said Pepper, trying to brush off Harry's comment with a small smile. "Are you guys almost done looking around? I wanted to see if there's an Apothecary here so we can pick up some items for the potion."

"I have to pick up a birthday present for Ron," Harry said, not convinced that "nothing" was bothering Pepper.

"His birthday's coming up?" asked Pepper in a slight panic. Ron had never told her when his birthday was…

"March the first," Harry nodded.

So Pepper and Harry spent the better part of the next hour evading Ron in the large Quidditch shop so they could pick up gifts for him. Then they proceeded to the Three Broomsticks since there was no Apothecary in sight. Besides, Harry decided, it wouldn't be too smart to go into the Apothecary looking for rare potion ingredients, especially with Ron there.

Hermione and Neville were in the Three Broomsticks and Ron, Harry and Pepper joined them at their table by Hermione's invitation. Hermione and Neville looked like they were having a great time, a fact which Harry, Ron and Pepper weren't too happy about. "Hey," said Hermione, rosy cheeked from laughter. Ron ordered three Butterbeers, trying to ignore how much fun Hermione was having with Neville.

The five Gryffindors spent some time in the Three Broomsticks before going there separate ways again. Though this time Pepper went with Hermione and Neville since Hermione suggested it and Ron and Harry encouraged it. Pepper guessed that it was because Ron and Harry wanted her to keep an eye on the happy couple.

The rest of the afternoon was pretty much uneventful. Pepper noticed that Hermione was having what looked like a forced great time with Neville, whereas she would have a great time with Ron, even as friends. She didn't say anything to Hermione until they were back at Hogwarts and eating dinner.

"Hermione," said Pepper, trying to be tactful, "did you have a good time with Neville today? I mean, you can tell me if you didn't, I am your friend, you know." She speared a piece of chicken with her fork and looked across the table at Hermione expectantly. Hermione just had her eyebrow raised.

"What are you getting at Pepper?" she asked. "You're not very suave, so out with it."

"Don't you think you would have had a better time today if you were with Ron?" Pepper asked, raising an eyebrow herself. "You seemed a little uptight with Neville… like you weren't having the best time…"

"Pepper, I had a wonderful time with Neville," said Hermione briskly. "Besides, you shouldn't be fretting over me; you should be worrying about what you'll find out when you visit Madam Pomfrey after dinner."

"Oh, yes," said Pepper, looking down at her plate. "So, Harry, why'd you want to dump me on Hermione?" she asked, her voice cheering up and she waited for Harry's response. Ron and Hermione smiled knowingly as Harry replied, "To keep an eye on her of course." But Pepper could tell they were keeping something from her.

After dinner the four friends went back to the common room to complete some homework. Hermione, determined to get Pepper to the hospital wing, told the boys they were going to the library to look at a few things for an essay, and she dragged Pepper from the common room. On the one hand, Pepper wanted to go to the hospital wing so she could find out what was going on, but on the other hand, if she was pregnant, she didn't really want Madam Pomfrey to know and she certainly didn't know how she would handle it. She was dreading the visit.

There was no one in the hospital wing when they arrived so Madam Pomfrey was able to see Pepper right away. When the medi-witch asked why Pepper was visiting, Pepper gulped and said in a small voice, "Pregnancy test."

Madam Pomfrey looked slightly surprised, but regained her composure quickly and ushered Pepper to a bed and telling Hermione to have a seat in the waiting area.

Hermione flipped idly through a _Witch Weekly_ while she waited for Pepper to be checked out. She thought about her first date with Neville this very afternoon. He was a lot more outgoing when she was alone with him than he was around a group of people, even if it was just his friends. He was funny and sweet to her and he seemed to fancy her. Pepper was right, however: she hadn't had the best afternoon with Neville. Most of the time she had spent comparing Neville to Ron: the way Neville smiled, the way they talked together, the way Neville held her hand, the way he kissed her, and even the lack of rows they had had. Hermione sighed. She knew Pepper was right – she really WAS in love with Ron. The question now was how was she going to tell him how she felt without him going totally mental? She had yelled at him and told him she didn't want to be in a relationship right now, then she had gotten into a relationship with Neville and now she was going to tell him that she was in love with him? Hermione wasn't sure Ron would buy it, after what she had put him through. Not to mention the little detail that he probably wasn't in love with her.

She flipped a page in the copy of _Witch Weekly _in her lap, trying to focus on Pepper's problems for the moment. After all, Pepper's problems were more important than Hermione figuring out that she was in love with Ron. Her eyes fell on the page she had turned to.

_**FALLEN OFF YOUR BROOMSTICK FOR A BLOKE BUT DON'T KNOW HOW TO TELL HIM? **OUR STEP-BY-STEP PAMPHLET CAN HELP!_

Hermione blinked blankly a few times at the ad. It was like it had read her mind. A second later she shook her head, coming to her senses. A pamphlet could never help her tell Ron that she loved him. Though, she thought, it was worth a shot, wasn't it? It couldn't hurt. She repeated the company's mailing address a few times over in her head so she could remember it.

Pepper emerged from the other room a minute later with a very composed look about her. She was walking deliberately, with her back straight and her face was very serious. When Pepper reached the place where Hermione was sitting, she said, "Let's go." Her voice was very tight, and Hermione feared the worst as she followed her friend from the hospital wing.

"What happened?" Hermione asked gently.

"He's dead," said Pepper evenly in response.

"Shit," said Hermione, causing Pepper to look at her in surprise.

"Shit's right," Pepper agreed stonily. "Fucking bastard." The two were silent for a bit until Pepper spluttered, "I'm pregnant! There's something alive growing inside of me, Hermione! What am I going to do?"

"You could get an abortion," suggested Hermione supportively, though she was strongly opposed to abortion.

"I couldn't do that," said Pepper, and Hermione was relieved. Pepper shook her head in despair. "No, it's not like Malfoy raped my or anything. I mean, when I put the Truth Spell on him he said he hadn't forced me to do anything…he said he hadn't needed to…Oh god, I'm pregnant! And it's my fault!" Pepper cried, suddenly spinning to face the corridor's wall and kicking it as hard as she could before resuming walking.

Hermione wanted to defend Pepper, though she was disappointed that Pepper did let this happen. "It's his fault too, Pepper! He could have used a contraceptive spell or a condom or _something_! You were drunk!"

"I shouldn't have let it happen," Pepper moaned. "I shouldn't have even come here in the first place! None of this would have ever happened if I had just stayed at home. I've screwed up too many lives…I don't know how I'm going to tell Harry, Ron and Ginny, my aunts and Malfoy about this! Everyone's going to disown me! Well, Malfoy won't but everyone else will! Why did I get myself into this?" She felt the sting of tears behind her eyes but refused to let them flow freely. "I'll tell Malfoy first, I think. Then I'll kick his ass."

Pepper didn't see Malfoy until Monday in Potions, where she couldn't talk to him. She was having trouble keeping her pregnancy a secret from Harry, Ron, Ginny and her aunts, but she had done it for the past day and a half and she planned on doing it until she talked to Malfoy.

She was sitting at a desk with Hermione today, since they didn't need partners to make this potion, and she scribbled a note on a scrap piece of parchment to give to Malfoy.

_Ferret,_

_We need to have a little chat. Meet me at the top of the Astronomy Tower at midnight tonight._

It was short and simple and Pepper was satisfied with it. On her way out of the classroom she dropped it on his desk. She didn't look back to see him grab it quickly and stuff it in his robes to be read later, a puzzled expression on his face. She did not stick around to see the look of realization suddenly come over him, nor did she see his slightly worried expression as he exited the classroom.

Pepper was waiting on the Astronomy Tower. She chuckled and made a mental note to stop meeting Malfoy in secret in the cover of darkness. She sat down on the hard stone ground, her back against the tower's wall, her hand going to her stomach involuntarily, as it had been doing for the past day.

The wooden door opened and Malfoy stepped out into the cold air. He looked around, not seeing Pepper. Spotting her at the far end of the tower, he made his way over to her and sat down next to her before she could stand up. He put a little distance between himself and Pepper, though, because he had a hunch why she asked him here and he figured she would be furious and might try and beat his ass.

He was getting better at fighting the Indirect Imperius Curse and tonight he decided that he would be nice to Pepper Halliwell. He wouldn't be his usual arrogant, sarcastic self. He would just tell her the truth. He would fight off the Indirect Imperius for as long as he could while talking to Pepper and he would just tell her the truth.

"You're not pregnant," he said before anything could come out of Pepper's mouth. Even though it was very dark he could feel her intense gaze on him.

"What?" said Pepper in disbelief.

"That's why you asked me here, isn't it?" he said. "Because you think you're pregnant."

"I _know_ I'm pregnant," Pepper corrected. "And it's your fault!" She suddenly remembered that she was furious with him and made a move to get up, but he slid over to her and grabbed her arm before she could.

"Listen to me, Halliwell," he said with a glare, though his voice was gentle. "You're not pregnant. You may think you are, and every medi-witch in the world can tell you the same, but I'm telling you otherwise."

"You better explain Malfoy. Right now," said Pepper in both shock and confusion. The thought of beating him until he couldn't move left her mind for a minute – if he really was telling the truth than she wouldn't have to.

"The Dark Lord was going to kill you," said Malfoy.

"What?" Pepper stuttered in horror. "I thought—"

"That he didn't know about you?" Malfoy smirked. "Is that what Dumbledore told you, then? Well, he's wrong. He's been planning to kill you for a few months now, and I'm his inside man." Pepper's eyes widened and she tried to back away from Malfoy, but he held onto her arm. "My father's been ordering me to…well, I won't get into that. To make a long story short, the Dark Lord wanted an heir. He chose me to impregnate you, so he would have someone very powerful to take over for him when he died."

By this time Pepper was shaking her head violently, not believing her ears. Voldemort's _heir_ was growing inside of her?

"Halliwell, _listen to me, will you_? Stop struggling! I'm not going to hurt you." Pepper stopped struggling in Malfoy's strong grasp and he continued. "You're not pregnant, though, Halliwell. I didn't go through with it. I couldn't. I wouldn't. And if I didn't get you pregnant then the Dark Lord would kill you faster than you could blink. The first plan was for you to have the baby and then he would kill you…but we'll have time to work something out."

"You mean you don't want me to die?" said Pepper coldly. "You don't want Voldemort—" (Malfoy flinched) "—to have an heir and prevail?"

"I don't want anyone to die," replied Malfoy. "Bloody hell, I thought you thought better of me, Halliwell."

"Well I don't. Especially not after what you did to Ginny."

A flicker of pain and regret flashed across Malfoy's face. He didn't let it faze him, though, and he continued. "I made a potion and put it in the Firewhisky you so loved. I gave you no reason to believe we hadn't shagged because that's what I was supposed to do: shag you."

"You mean we didn't even really have sex?" Pepper asked mouth agape again. He shook his head. "And I'm not really pregnant?" He shook his head again. "But what about…well, it felt like we had sex." She was thankful it was dark because she felt her cheeks burning up.

"Spell," he said. "And the potion I gave you to make it seem like you were pregnant will last a few months. Madam Pomfrey will probably think you're pregnant for a few months…then she'll probably tell you you've had a miscarriage…you won't show, of course, even if you really were pregnant the Dark Lord told me to take care of that with a Concealment Spell. We'll just have to figure out a way to keep you alive and out of his grasp."

"Why are you doing this for me?" Pepper asked, oddly touched at Malfoy's gesture. "Why didn't you really get me pregnant? Why are you telling me this? Why are you helping me evade Voldemort?" Malfoy shuddered again, but Pepper ignored it this time.

"You owe me," he said simply and she knew what he meant. He wanted her to help him get rid of the Indirect Imperius Curse. And now she had to.

"You're fighting it now, aren't you," she said. He raised his eyebrow at her and rolled his eyes, which she took for a _yes_.

"Oh, Halliwell, and about what I did to Ginny…" he said, sighing. "Well, tell her I'm sorry. I really am. And now you can tell her that I didn't _really_ cheat on her…it wasn't my fault. Can you tell her that I…I…"

"You love her?" said Pepper softly.

Malfoy looked down at the ground. "Yeah. That I love her," he said.

Pepper smiled. "You do? Really?" she asked. She thought it wasn't possible for Malfoy to care about anyone but himself, though she supposed he had shown compassion tonight.

"Yes, I do," he said, and she could tell he was blushing.

"Will do," she assured him. Getting up, she headed towards the tower door to return back to her own tower. "Oh, and Malfoy," she said, turning around to face the still sitting form of the Slytherin. He looked up at her. "Thanks," she told him before turning back around and making her way through the dark, teacher-infested hallways to the Gryffindor common room.

**A/N: Way too much stuff happened in that chapter! I just have to say that this is not AT ALL where I was taking this story! I didn't expect Hermione to be in love with Ron or Draco to be in love with Ginny…the characters are running away from me! Okay, so I'll write as fast as I can and have another chapter up relatively soon (I hope!)**


	36. Chapter 35: The Magnetic Girl

**A/N: Ah! I'm so behind its horrible! I'm so sorry people! I've just been so busy and everything it's just bad. Well thanks for all your reviews…**hannah**: Draco IS my hero!!! Don't be dissing the hot one! **storyreader14: **same to you! You're not supposed to hate Draco; you're supposed to love him! Like I do! And it's called a coincidence… **Lady Emerald Black: **Thanks for the lovely review…you'll have answers to your questions (hopefully) soon…and pregnant is spelled like I just spelled it. Like I said, I didn't expect it to be Draco and Ginny AT ALL! I didn't want that to happen! But I'll figure it all out eventually… **Zurine**: more Charmed is coming soon, I promise! **MEERA**: Don't die! I'm updating! Here! **Stephanie**: Good idea…we'll see what happens…**

**WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, I PRESENT TO YOU, MY LOVING FANS, CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE!!! **

**DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! **

**Chapter Thirty-Five**

Hermione was awakened with a start, tears in her eyes. She had just had a particularly bad dream about her parents' murder. Recalling the nightmare, tears anew made their way down her cheeks as she bowed her head and tried to sob quietly.

So it was that Hermione was awake when Pepper came back into the dormitory, elated but a bit confused from her late night rendezvous with Malfoy. She was humming and she didn't realize how loud it was until Hermione stuck her head out from her closed bed hangings just as Pepper was entering her four-poster. "Where were you?" Hermione hissed through tears, her voice strangled from crying.

Pepper whirled around to face Hermione at her brow wrinkled in concern at once. "Hermione, what's wrong?" she asked quietly, as to not wake the other girls in their dormitory. Pepper crossed the room to Hermione's bed and climbed inside the hangings with her. At a closer range, Pepper could tell she had been crying. "What's up?"

"Just a nightmare," replied Hermione, trying to regain her composure. She was curious as to why Pepper was up this late. "Where were you?" she repeated.

"I'm not pregnant," Pepper said, beaming at Hermione. Hermione looked at her, puzzled. "I met with Malfoy tonight at the top of the Astronomy Tower and he explained all this to me…" Pepper told Hermione of what happened with Malfoy, (leaving out the part about him being in love with Ginny), and when she was done Hermione was also smiling.

"Pepper, that's wonderful," she said quietly. As quickly as the smile appeared on her face it fell into a frown. "Voldemort's planning on killing you," Hermione gaped. "We've got to figure something out! We've only got eight months left, by then I'm sure he'll have some plan to take you so you can have the baby! But when he finds out that you're not pregnant after all he'll be livid, Pepper."

"Do you think we should tell Harry and Ron all about everything? I figure we're going to need their help. Especially Harry's help," whispered Pepper.

"Yeah, I s'pose we should," Hermione agreed. "I think we're going to have to explain it slightly backwards, though, because they'll probably get really worked up over your pregnancy scare."

"I almost hit him tonight, you know," said Pepper thoughtfully. "I wanted to break his nose so bad…but I think I'm glad I didn't because he probably wouldn't have told me all that helpful stuff. He's not a bad guy, Malfoy."

"Perhaps not," said Hermione. There was a thoughtful pause in her speech before she continued, "Pepper, I realized something while you were in the hospital wing today." Pepper looked at Hermione in question. "I'm in love with Ron."

Pepper fell off the bed she was so surprised. The loud "thud" didn't wake Parvati and Lavender and when Pepper's head appeared above the bed once more she was grinning ear to ear. "I knew it!" she exclaimed in a whisper to Hermione's laughing face. "You realized this after your date with Neville this afternoon, didn't you? I knew it!" She climbed back into Hermione's bed. Hermione didn't choose to answer Pepper's question. They sat in silence for a few minutes, each of them lost in their own thoughts. "Was your nightmare about your parents?" Pepper asked softly after a while.

Hermione looked up at her. "Is the numbness gone for you?" she asked hoarsely.

"Sometimes," replied Pepper sadly. "It's almost the year anniversary of my mom's death…the end of this month…"

The both of them knew the tears were coming on and didn't stop them. They hugged each other, trying to comfort the other person, thought they were both sobbing uncontrollably. That was the way they spent most of the night, and when they were out of tears they both fell into an uneasy sleep.

Charms the next day was the first chance Pepper got to talk to Ginny. It was the afternoon and by then Harry and Ron had been informed of Pepper's pregnancy scare and what happened on the Astronomy Tower with him, ("You should have told us so we could go with you!" "He could've thrown you off the tower or something!"). They, too, knew that something needed to be done about Voldemort. Pepper had woken up that morning before Hermione and left Hermione in the bed alone, hoping she would forget the sad events of the night before. Neither one them had said anything to the other about it.

When Pepper entered the Charms classroom she found that Ginny was already there, sitting at a table in the front of the room. Pepper was almost bursting with the news she was about to tell Ginny and she practically skipped up to her redheaded friend. "Hey, Gin," she said, taking the empty seat next to the girl.

"Hi, Pepper," Ginny replied.

"I have something exciting to tell you," Pepper cried just as Professor Flitwick started class. She rustled around for some parchment and her lucky purple spotted quill to write a note to Ginny, who looked very curious.

Unfortunately, Professor Flitwick's class was interrupted, as there came a knock at the door. Everyone turned in their seats (though Pepper desperately wanted to tell Ginny the wonderful news), and Professor Dumbledore poked his head in the classroom. "Excuse me, Professor, my I interrupt for a moment?" he asked.

"Yes, Headmaster, of course," squeaked tiny Professor Flitwick.

The Headmaster opened the door wide and stepped in. "We have the pleasure of a new student here at Hogwarts," he announced. He ushered a girl into the room; a girl who made everyone's eyes go wide. It was obvious from the start that there was something very special about this girl. She had a hold on all of the boys, that much was certain, and there was some entrancement on the girls' part as well. It was mostly that feeling of jealousy you get when you want to be exactly like someone else. The only people this girl didn't seem to really affect were Hermione, Professor Dumbledore and Professor Flitwick.

Professor Dumbledore and the special girl walked to the front of the classroom. Hermione tried to put a finger on what exactly made this girl so special. She had long sparkling blonde hair and wide wondering eyes, but she seemed a little shy as she stood in front of the class. The girl was looking slowly around at all the students, looking as if she wanted to disappear into the floor. She was beautiful, Hermione decided, but it was not her looks that made her quite so. Hermione just couldn't decide what it was that made her so beautiful that she had a hold over all her classmates. And Hermione wondered why this girl had no hold over her.

"This is Miss Eowyn Cuomo," Professor Dumbledore introduced. **(A/N: Hmm…I wonder who this is Elise…?) ** Hermione didn't think the class cared what her name was, they just wanted to look at her: the boys with lust and the girls with loathing. Professor Dumbledore didn't seem to notice this. "She is a sixth year Ravenclaw, new to Hogwarts this year," Dumbledore continued. "I hope you all make her feel welcome. Now I will let you get back to your lesson, Professor Flitwick, thank you."

"Thank you, Headmaster," squealed Professor Flitwick. "Miss Cuomo, you may take a seat next to Miss Granger."

The strange new girl took the only empty seat in the room – the one next to Hermione, who got to take a closer look at Eowyn Cuomo. "Hello, I'm Hermione Granger," Hermione said friendlily, smiling at the mysterious girl, who looked at her in slight shock.

"Hello," she replied evenly. "I'm Eowyn."

The two of them didn't speak for the rest of the class. Hermione could tell every single person in the classroom was itching to get up and talk to Eowyn. She studied the girl out of the corner of her eye for the rest of the class.

When the bell sounded most of the class's male population (including Harry and Ron) surrounded the new girl, who soaked up all the attention happily, which disgusted Hermione for a reason she didn't quite know. Pepper and Ginny both looked fairly interested in speaking to Eowyn, but Hermione led them from the room and down to lunch.

"Don't you want to meet her Hermione?" said Pepper as Hermione dragged her two friends down to the Great Hall. "Oh, wait, that's right, you got to sit next to her the whole class." Pepper sounded slightly jealous and Hermione wanted to yell at her not to be jealous, Eowyn was just a girl! But Hermione could tell that that was a lie: Eowyn Cuomo was not just a girl.

"Why is everyone so anxious to meet her?" Hermione asked, wondering if she could get an answer to her question right here and now.

"Why aren't you?" Pepper answered, furrowing her brow.

Hermione didn't answer – she didn't know what she would say to that – and the three continued their journey to lunch in silence, the three of them each thinking about this mysterious girl.

Ginny had completely forgotten about what Pepper had to tell her at the beginning of Charms class. She remembered it halfway through her lunch (Harry, Ron and Eowyn Cuomo had not shown up yet), and she said, "Pepper, what was it that you wanted to tell me?"

Pepper turned suddenly to face Ginny and a huge grin broke out across her face. "Malfoy's in love with you," she said very quickly, her eyes lighting up.

Ginny stared at Pepper in alarm. "He's _what_?" she asked. "In _love with me_?" Hermione stared at Pepper as well, though her glance was quizzical. She wondered why Pepper hadn't told her this last night. Unless Pepper had recently met with Malfoy more than once…

"I met with him last night to…erm…clear something up and he told me to tell you that he loved you!" said Pepper, a little disappointed at Ginny's less-than-giddy reaction. "I thought you were in love with him too and all and…" her voice trailed off as Ginny shook her head slowly. "…but…"

"I'm not in love with him, Pepper," said Ginny. "And I doubt that he's in love with me. He was probably just telling you that for his own sick enjoyment or something." Her eyes burned with deep rage and Pepper shook her head furiously.

"He wasn't just saying it Ginny! I think you should talk to him!"

Ginny was thinking of a response when Harry, Ron and a few other Gryffindor boys decided to join them at the table, looking starry eyed. "What happened to you two?" asked Ginny.

"She's amazing…" said Harry, taking a seat.

"She touched my arm," Ron said dreamily, sitting down beside Hermione and spooning some green beans onto his plate.

"…beautiful, sweet, kind, beautiful…" Harry was continuing. Pepper had to smack him upside the head to make him shut up, though she looked jealous again.

A light bulb suddenly went off over Hermione's head. "I'm going to the library!" she announced, though Harry and Ron were too busy talking about Eowyn to notice and Pepper and Ginny were too busy trying to get the boys' attention to pay any heed to Hermione.


	37. Chapter 36:Let's Talk About Pepper

**A/N: Ah! It's another chapter! Yay! I reached my goal of writing two more chapters this Christmas break! Happy New Year everyone! Woo hoo. 2005! Anyway, reviewers…**Lady Emerald Black**: Thank you! And about my evil plan…well, you'll find that out, but not in this chappy, sorry. **UPDTAE!UPDTAE!etc…, Zurine, emily**: I'm not _that_ unoriginal, am I? Anyway, you'll find out what she is later. **

**Now, here's the chapter! **

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**Chapter Thirty-Six**

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"Come on…come on…" Hermione whispered to herself, running a finger over the spines of the books on one of the library shelves. She was looking for a particular volume and it didn't seem to be here, though she knew it had to be, as she had checked it out before. She went to the next row of books and commenced the search. "Ah, here you are," she said when she found the large burgundy hardback. She pulled it off the shelf and headed over to the nearest empty table, putting the book on it and sitting down on the wooden chair.

She flipped through the heavy pages, her eyes searching sub titles until she found what she was looking for. "I knew it! I knew it!" she cried, rushing to the check out desk so that she could show the book to Pepper, Ginny, Harry and Ron. So that they would understand what was happening to them. So that they could fight what was happening and so they could resist the strange new girl.

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Professor Giancarlo had not been able to see Harry or Pepper for their extra Defense Against the Dark Arts lessons nor had she been able to see Ron so he could quiz her on how she knew his brother. She wouldn't have the time today, either. But then, none of them would want to see her today.

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Professor Giancarlo stood in front of her class, looking at the face of Pepper Halliwell-Black before she began speaking to the silent students. "Wendigo, Grimlock, Drazi, Abraxas, Troxa, Dane, Keats, Jeric, Barabas, Cree, Ludlow, Lukas, Kellman…can anyone tell me what those are the names of?"

Hermione looked at her desk-mate, Pepper, before tentatively raising her hand. "Yes, Miss Granger?" said the professor.

"Demons," answered Hermione simply.

"Correct. Very good Miss Granger, ten points to Gryffindor. Now, does anyone recognize the names Eames, Gavin, Dragon, Arnon, Jeremy, Nicholas, Zile or Anton?" Professor Giancarlo asked as she walked among the desks the Slytherins were seated at. "How about you Miss Stoke?" she asked Alana.

Alana shrugged and raised an eyebrow in boredom. "Famous authors," she said dully.

"Warlocks," said Malfoy suddenly, looking at Pepper meaningfully.

Pepper's eyes widened. He _did_ say that he'd looked into her family lineage, hadn't he…? But she never thought that he'd know that much about her and her history. And she wondered what the hell this had to do with Defense Against the Dark Arts—it was a completely different magical world.

"That's correct, Mr. Malfoy, ten points to Slytherin. Five points from Slytherin as well, Miss Stoke, for your sarcasm," said Professor Giancarlo, walking back up to the front of the classroom. "I see most of you are staring at me blankly," she added with an amused smile. "I'm sure none of you in this room has heard of demons or warlocks, well, save for Miss Granger, Miss Halliwell, Mr. Malfoy and perhaps Misters Potter and Weasley because none of you have researched into this branch of Dark Magic. In fact, this topic is a new addition to the curriculum this year since its power is growing and beginning to affect our world of magic. Ah, I'm still getting blank stares." She smiled slightly at the class before continuing. "I must say, our half of the magical world is the less complicated half. Miss Halliwell, I was wondering if you could perhaps share some of your vast knowledge about this topic with us, as I seem to be getting no response."

Hesitantly, Pepper stood up and walked to the front of the room next to Professor Giancarlo. The professor stepped aside and gave the floor to Pepper. The student was very confused and she wasn't sure at all what to say. She was still wondering why this was something Professor Giancarlo was teaching. Wasn't she or Professor Dumbledore afraid that the Slytherins would learn too much? Hadn't the Headmaster warned her about using her powers in front of them? She decided just to stay away from her powers, though the biggest Slytherin threat was probably Malfoy, and she knew he was good. She licked her lips in nervousness; the whole class was looking at her and she saw Malfoy's know-it-all smirk shot in her direction. She gave him a death glare before she began.

"Well, er, I don't really know where to begin, I guess. I know so much about, erm, the other half of the magical world because I grew up in it. My aunts and I are sort of Muggle witches, if you'll excuse the oxymoron. I guess all you really need to know about is everything we fight. Well, demons and warlocks are about the evilest you can get. There are many different demons and warlocks, as Professor Giancarlo basically just said. They have evil powers used against innocent people. Warlocks appear as humans and demons can as well…um…oh, they're vanquished, er, _defeated_ with special spells and potions and can be warded off with a wand shooting spells." Pepper shot a look at Harry and Hermione, who turned a bit red. "Uh, I guess that's all…professor?" Pepper shrugged at the class uncertainly, earning a small laugh from some of them.

"Thank you Miss Halliwell, thirty points to Gryffindor for your help," said Professor Giancarlo, taking reign of the class once again. "Now—"

Professor Giancarlo's lesson was cut off by the classroom door bursting open and Professor McGonagall rushing in. The curious eyes of all of the students followed her as she made her way to the front of the room to talk with Professor Giancarlo in hushed tones. When the short conversation ended Professor McGonagall ordered Pepper to follow her. Pepper got up from her seat for the second time in the past five minutes and followed the teacher, almost running to keep up.

Pepper's Uncle Leo was standing at the end of the hall, looking worried and impatient, running a hand through his hair. "Pepper, go with your uncle; you're excused from your classes for the rest of the day," said Professor McGonagall, smiling at her encouragingly. Pepper was confused and she looked at her uncle.

"Come on, Pep, we've got to go," he said. Grabbing Pepper's hand, he orbed out of the Hogwarts hallway, leaving Professor McGonagall standing there in slight shock.

Piper and Paige were waiting in the parlor for Leo to arrive with Pepper. They had no idea what to do about their sister, who was currently swimming somewhere off the coast, ignoring her love for Cole and the fact that he had come back. Piper was pacing back and forth so much that Paige was afraid she was going to burn a hole in the floor. Paige was fidgety: she kept crossing and uncrossing her legs, biting her nails and playing with her hair. The two of them were very worried about Phoebe. She had already been a mermaid for a week and it didn't seem like she was going to be coming home any time soon.

Pepper and Leo entered the parlor from the foyer and Pepper immediately ran over and hugged her aunts. A puzzled expression appeared on her face and she asked, "Where's Aunt Phoebe?"

"Somewhere in the middle of the sea, probably," said Piper agitatedly. "We haven't seen her in days."

Pepper gasped. "What? How the heck is she surviving in the middle of the sea?"

"She's a mermaid," Paige helped, shrugging like this sort of thing happened every day. It took Pepper a moment to remember that this sort of thing _did_ happen every day.

"Why is she a mermaid?" Pepper asked evenly, sitting in a chair across from her Aunt Paige. Leo followed suit. "Can someone please explain this to me?"

"Well...I trust Phoebe has filled you in with all that's going on with Cole and their jobs recently, yes?" Leo said. Pepper nodded so he continued. "So you're aware that Cole showed up when Phoebe was trying to divorce him?" Receiving another nod he went on with the explanation. "A mermaid by the name of Mylie shows up here asking your aunts for help because she made a pact with a Sea Hag: if her love, Craig, professed his love for Mylie then she would become human. If not then she owed her immortality to the Sea Hag, who promised the demon Necron Mylie's immortality. Paige wrote a spell to track the Sea Hag which turned Phoebe into a mermaid, so Phoebe took to the water to find the Sea Hag. Piper didn't come with Paige and I when we went to Phoebe, so the Sea Hag couldn't be vanquished, but Paige saved Mylie by orbing a deadly, life-sucking shell from her chest and putting it on the Sea Hag. I went to get Craig, who professed his love for Mylie so that she turned human. But Phoebe didn't come back with us, she decided to go swimming. I've tried a few times to capture her but it hasn't worked. We don't know what to do so Piper suggested going to get you to see if you three can come up with a sort of de-mermaiding spell or something."

"Oh," said Pepper, trying to absorb all of this information. "You actually think a de-mermaiding spell will work? Is it possible to write one of those? And does this mean you want me to be a part of the Power of Three? You really think I can be apart of it?" Pepper was excited now.

"We're not sure we can write a spell like that, or if it will work," said Piper, stopping her pacing and taking a seat as well. "And yes, Pepper, we think you can be apart of the Power of Three. We know you're powerful enough; it's just the question of whether or not two sisters and their niece will work for the Power of Three. We'll just have to see, I suppose." She was smiling and the bright and excited look on her niece's face. Pepper had been waiting to be apart of the Power of Three since she was eleven.

"Then do we have to do all of this today? Since I'm only excused from my classes for the rest of the day?" Pepper wondered. She doubted they could accomplish this all in one day. From the sound of it, it would be very difficult locating her Aunt Phoebe, not to mention the fact that they still had to write the spell.

"We'll see," shrugged Leo.

"What are we waiting for? Let's get to work," said Piper, standing up and heading up to the attic. Pepper, Leo and Paige soon followed, Pepper determined not to let her aunts down.

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"Resist the call of the ocean, ignore the sound of the sea…you're really a witch, a human, come back to us, Phoebe? Scales and fin turn to skin and legs, as a human you're set free…um…gills transform back into lungs, you can again be sisters three?"

"Not bad, Pepper, not bad at all," said Piper, very impressed with her niece, as she scribbled it down on the pad on her lap. "_Now_ we're actually getting somewhere. This really might work…"

"Very nice, Pepper," agreed Leo, also impressed with the girl's work. Pepper beamed.

"Though we might have to change the line, "as a human you're set free." I'm not sure if it quite fits," Piper said, tapping the pen on her thigh.

"I was thinking something along the lines of "mermaid abductee." Maybe that can fit in somewhere…?" said Paige.

"Resist the now-large part of you, that's a mermaid abductee?" Piper tried. "I think it fits better, but now we'll have to change the other two lines…I like the very last line."

"We don't even know if this is going to work! What if we get there and this Necron is all ready for us with life-sucking shells or something?" Pepper said.

"Don't be so worried, Pepper, it'll be alright. Necron probably won't even be there when we arrive…come to think of it, Phoebe probably won't be there either. How are we going to get her?" Piper said.

"I could try Mirroring," Pepper suggested. "I could just picture Aunt Phoebe and I could probably go to her."

"But what if she's underwater?" Paige pointed out. "That wouldn't be good at all. You'd drown."

"No, I could just mirror right out again."

"Plus, Phoebe looks different now."

"Oh please, just let me try it. I'll be careful, Aunt Paige, I promise," Pepper begged, curling her lip down in a pout.

"I don't know," said Piper uncertainly, looking at her niece. Pepper's lip curled down more and Piper smiled.

"Alright, alright," Piper chuckled. "But be careful."

"I will," Pepper grinned. She shut her eyes and put her face in her hands, pressing the heels of her hands into her eyes so white shapes floated inside her eyelids. She pictured the face of her Aunt Phoebe because Pepper knew she would look quite different as a mermaid…

The familiar feeling of her stomach falling out was followed by brightness from beyond her eyelids and she opened her eyes, blinking furiously to get her eyes accustomed to the bright sun. She was standing on a beach at the waters edge and it strongly reminded her of her night with Malfoy…she shook her head to relieve her brain of the memory and looked around.

"Ah…hello, erm, _Uncle_ Cole…"

"Pepper," said Cole, smirking at her.

Pepper glared at him, trying not to recall the crush she used to have on him. "Where's Aunt Phoebe?" she said incredulously, glancing around the beach. A wave licked the toes of her black heels, her black school robes blowing slightly in the breeze. The sea's salty air covered her in a light mist.

"Swam off, I'm afraid," replied Cole. "I was trying to talk some sense into her but she wouldn't hear it. Pepper," he tipped his head the slightest bit and looked at her, "what are you so afraid of? I won't hurt you."

"Who said I was afraid?" she asked with an I'm-untouchable attitude, raising a pencil-darkened eyebrow at her uncle. But she was afraid, and she was slightly ashamed that she'd let herself show it.

"I can tell, Pepper, believe me. I won't hurt you," he repeated, and Pepper was reassured.

"So tell me, why'd you just show up when Aunt Phoebe was filing the divorce papers?" Pepper asked, stepping up the beach a little and crossing her arms, her eyebrow still high on her forehead.

Cole let out a little laugh. "I didn't want her to divorce me. I'm still very much in love with your aunt, Pepper, and I know she loves me back."

"Oh really," said Pepper, not dropping the attitude.

"Yes, really," answered Cole. He didn't appreciate the attitude his niece was taking with him, but even he had heard of what she was capable of, and didn't think anything of it. Besides, he hadn't seen Pepper in a long time and he decided this would be the chance to, er, _catch up_ with her. "So, Pepper, how's school going?" glancing down at the Gryffindor crest on her robes.

"Fine," she said, shrugging a little. "There were some complications but I guess it's going all right again. I'm almost top in my class…"

"But that's to be expected," he said.

She shrugged again. "Is it? Ah, _there_ you are, Aunt Phoebe!" Cole's gaze followed Pepper's to the sea where Phoebe's torso was sticking out of the water about ten feet off shore.

"Pepper!" Phoebe smiled, swimming closer. Pepper noticed she didn't acknowledge Cole's presence. "Why are you here?"

"Because I want you home!" cried Pepper. "Aunt Paige and Aunt Piper and Uncle Leo are so worried about you and I think you should just get your arse home!"

Phoebe laughed a light and bubbly laugh. "My home is the sea now, Pepper," said Phoebe, now staying where she was.

"But then I won't get to see you anymore!" Pepper said, walking towards the water's edge and walking into the water until her feet were almost covered by the waves so that she could get closer to her aunt.

"You can come visit me out here!" said Phoebe.

"No I can't!" said Pepper, willing this to work. If she could just touch her aunt then she could Mirror her back to the Manor… "The sea is so big and stuff!"

"There's too much to deal with at home, Pepper. You should join me out here!"

For a moment Pepper actually considered that idea. Then she came to her senses. "Well then can I at least say goodbye?" She put on her saddest look and opened her arms for her aunt to come closer to give her a hug.

Phoebe, smiling, came closer to give Pepper a wet, slippery hug. As soon as Pepper got contact with Phoebe's skin she closed her eyes and imagined the parlor with all her might, hoping she could get back there before Phoebe realized what was happening.

Phoebe let out a yell but Pepper was feeling the familiar roller coaster sensation and soon her feet were on solid ground again, her aunt in her arms, Phoebe's tail flopping uselessly on the parlor floor.

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**A/N: Tell me what you think of my spell! Oh, in case you all were not aware, that was a real episode of 'Charmed' but I'm just messing with it a little. Don't forget to review! (Where are you, **charmedsisters


	38. Chapter 37:The DeMermaiding

**A/N: Here's the new chappy! It's longer than usual…well, what I've been writing recently, anyway, and it's mostly Charmed. Thanks for all the reviews. **Lady Emerald Black**: Your reviews amuse me to no end. And again I ask: am I really so unpredictable as to make her a vela? **Sweety**: Sorry, no Prof. Giancarlo and Ron in this chapter. I think you agree with just about everyone (but me) about Pepper and Harry. **Meera**: You need to watch more Charmed, person! **

**Those of you who don't know the outcome of the episode, you'll learn it. Or you can watch it. The reruns on TNT (those of you who get that station…) are almost to that episode I think. Or you can get the amazing book of all knowledge: The Book of Three. It explains every episode of Charmed ever and has the Book of Shadows and everything. My brother got it for Christmas and on the inside cover my mom wrote "Adam, share this with your sister. The Power of Two." **

**And now here's the longer chapter! I just had a burst of inspiration on this and BANG! here it is! **

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**Chapter Thirty-Seven**

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"What do you think that was all about?" Harry asked his best friends, Ron and Hermione, as they walked back to the common room. "Professor McGonagall looked so rushed, and Pepper's still not back."

"I'm sure it was nothing serious," said Hermione. "Professor McGonagall probably just wanted her for something and Pepper's already back in the common room waiting for us to go to Potions."

"How did Malfoy know so much about Pepper?" Ron asked, puzzled.

"He does research," said Hermione.

"Remember that midnight meeting with him, Ron? He said he'd researched Pepper's family line," Harry reminded him.

"It's still weird," shrugged Ron. "I mean where the—Acid Pops—heck do you get that sort of information?" The portrait of the Fat Lady swung open and the three friends entered the common room, where there was no Pepper in sight. "Well, you should know, shouldn't you Hermione?"

"There are books in the restricted section about Witches like Pepper," admitted Hermione.

"Hermione! You broke into the restricted section?" Ron said, shocked.

"_No_," said Hermione, sitting down on the crimson sofa, Ron sitting beside her and Harry placing himself in an armchair. "I actually did a project on the other half of the magical world, which is how I know so much. Malfoy was in that class too, and we both chose the same topic…I don't know too much about Pepper's aunts – the Charmed Ones – specifically, but they're mentioned in a lot of the texts. That's how Malfoy knows about her as well, and I'm sure he's done more research into the Charmed Ones specifically to see if Pepper could help him with the Indirect Imperius Curse. Speaking of which…is she going to help him?"

"I think," said Harry.

"Yeah, she owes him after the pregnancy scare, apparently," said Hermione. "Well, at least that's what he told her. And I think I agree with him; that was a big thing he did for Pepper."

"Why has Malfoy suddenly gone so soft?" Ron asked, leaning heavily against the back of the couch.

"He's getting strong enough to fight the Curse, I guess," Harry said.

"Why, Ron, do you miss the old Malfoy?" Hermione raised an eyebrow at him.

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"Take me back!" Phoebe shrieked. Leo, Paige and Pepper attempting to carry her into the filled bathtub but she wouldn't have it, she was moving around as much as possible in protest.

"Stop - umph - squirming," Leo ordered through gritted teeth. "Put her down on the count of three," he told Paige and Pepper. "One…two…THREE!"

Phoebe let out a yelp as she was dropped into the bathtub, some water spilling from the tub onto the floor. Paige wiped her hands on her jeans. "Ug, you feel like a fish, Phoebe," she complained, scrunching up her nose.

"Take me back!" Phoebe shrieked again.

"You have that interview today about your job, remember?" asked Piper, stepping into the bathroom with the rest of the family. "The news crew's coming and everything, so you'd best turn back into a human before they arrive."

"I don't care about my job; I just want to get back to the sea!" Phoebe told her big sister. "You can't keep me here forever, you know. I'm not a common goldfish. I cannot ignore the call of the sea."

"I'm sorry, but the call of the bathtub is just gonna have to do," Paige said, earning a scowl from Phoebe the Mermaid. **(A/N: I didn't make up the last things spoken by Paige and Phoebe, they were in an episode.)**

"Why do mermaids wear so little?" Pepper asked in horror. "Aunt Phoebe, aren't you ashamed to be wearing _just_ that? You have, like, eight scales over each boob! I mean, come _on_, can't you put a shirt on or something? Your chest is too big for you to do that." Piper, Paige and especially Leo were amused by their niece's comment.

"I'm not ashamed, Pepper," replied Phoebe. "Why would I be? The only beings who see me are—"

"The Mermen, right?" Paige smirked. "Yeah, I bet they love that you're so revealed, Phoebe. Moving on… Piper, do you have the spell?"

"Yes," Piper replied, reaching into her pants pocket and pulling out a folded piece of yellow notepad paper.

"A spell?" Phoebe laughed that new, bubbly laugh. "I can't transform back into a human with a spell," she told them, but there was fear in her eyes.

"Oh yea, well we can try," said Piper, praying that this spell would work so she could get her human sister back again. "Pepper. Paige."

Pepper and Paige walked over to stand beside Piper and read the spell that Pepper's aunts had revised while the girl was out."Resist the call of the ocean, / Ignore the sound of the sea, / You're really a witch, a human, / Come back to us Phoebe.

"Forget the now-large part of you, / That's a mermaid abductee, / Scales, tail, fin all change back, / So you can again be sisters three." The three witches recited, watching to see if Phoebe would change at all.

Pepper was very excited. She had just written her first spell…perhaps she could help Malfoy, then. She watched her Aunt Phoebe (who looked slightly bored) with bated breath, fidgeting as she waited for a change.

There was a second in which the golden scales adorning MerPhoebe disappeared and her tail turned back into legs (leaving Leo very uncomfortable) but then the scales and tail returned. The witches and their Whitelighter furrowed their brows and the mermaid smiled contentedly. Pepper sighed. "Why didn't it work?" she asked.

"Well it worked for a second…" Piper said, pursing her lips.

Suddenly, a blur appeared in the room and Cole shimmered into the bathroom, causing the occupants of the room to let out yells of surprise. "Cole," Paige said, none too friendly. "How nice of you to drop by."

"I figured that you all would need some help with turning Phoebe human again," he supplied. The human women in the room glared at him. "And it would appear that I was right." He tried to smile brightly at them, but his smile was suppressed by the death glares he was receiving.

"Do you have a better idea than a spell to change her back, then, Mr. High-and-Mighty?" Paige inquired.

"Phoebe has to admit her love for me," Cole said matter-of-factly. He apparently thought that this was the most obvious answer in the world.

"Well, I doubt that's going to happen," said Phoebe from the bathtub. Cole turned to face her.

"Why do you want to stay a mermaid forever, Phoebe?" he asked her. When she didn't answer he raised his eyebrow at her.

"I don't love you, Cole," said Phoebe defiantly, though no one in the room was convinced.

_Ding…dong_, came the sound from downstairs. "So you want to be a mermaid for your interview, Phoebe?" Piper scowled. "Fine then, I'll go answer the door. Cover her up with bubbles or something."

Piper turned on her heel and walked out of the bathroom, still scowling. She was getting sick of not having her sister. She missed Phoebe and wanted the negative MerPhoebe to go away so they could get on with their lives. Piper and Paige had managed to have a week without demons while Phoebe was a mermaid, but Piper didn't know how much longer that would go on. Demons would have to attack sometime, and it would probably be some time soon. She didn't want to have to pull Pepper out of school to help them, but she just might have to if Phoebe didn't quit this nonsense.

Stepping off the last stair, Piper crossed the foyer and answered the door. There stood the woman from the eleven o' clock news and her cameraman. Piper welcomed them in and, after offering them coffee, which they declined, led them upstairs. "Phoebe says she thinks best in the bathtub, is it all right if you give her the interview there?" Piper asked, feeling rather stupid. She hoped that Phoebe was covered with bubbles when she arrived in the bathroom, otherwise there might be a little explaining to do.

"Um…yes, that's all right," said the newswoman, obviously confused.

When the two arrived at the bathroom Piper opened the door and let her guests in. Phoebe was in the bathtub, everything but her head covered by bubble bath. Paige, Pepper, Leo and Cole were standing off to the side, everyone but Cole looking rather nervous.

Piper ushered everyone out of the bathroom and left Phoebe to her interview. **(A/N: The interview really happened in the episode as well.)**

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"This would never have happened if you hadn't come back into the picture!" Paige fumed at Cole as she paced the attic floor. "Why can't you just let Phoebe go?"

"Why didn't the spell work?" Pepper muttered to herself, passing her Aunt Paige as she paced as well.

"Don't doubt your spell-writing abilities, Pepper, the spell was wonderful," Piper assured her. She was flipping through the Book of Shadows for the millionth time to see if there was an answer to their mermaid problem. "I think it would have worked if Phoebe wanted to become human again, but she doesn't, and that's the problem."

"No, _he's _the problem," Paige said, stopping her pacing and glaring at Cole. Pepper, who was looking at the floor, slammed into Paige because she had stopped walking.

"Oomph!" Pepper cried before she fell on her butt. Paige gave her a hand up and she rubbed her behind before commencing pacing.

"Pepper, will you stop pacing? It's giving me a headache," Piper said, but Pepper didn't seem to hear her. As Pepper walked by the chair Leo was sitting in he grabbed her arm and sat her in his lap to get her to stop pacing. She pouted with great resignation.

"What are we going to do?" she wined. "Adan!"

"Pepper, please speak English in our presence. We can't understand that Elvish stuff," Paige said.

"Uma, nin bereth," Pepper replied, smiling. Paige glared at her.

"Pepper…" Leo said warningly.

"Cole may be on to something," Piper said, slamming the book shut and running a hand through her hair. "There's no answer whatsoever in the Book of Shadows." She came to the middle of the attic, standing by Cole and Paige. She looked towards Cole. "Now the question is how to we get her to admit her love for you?"

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Hermione had been wrong: Pepper wasn't in the common room waiting for them to go to their next class. Nor was she _in_ Potions, nor was she at dinner. "It's getting late, I'm worried," Hermione sighed, sitting down at a table and pulling some books from her bag to get down to doing her homework.

"I'm sure it's nothing," Harry assured her, following suit of Hermione.

"But she missed classes! Don't you think that means that something's wrong?" Hermione said.

"If you're so worried why don't you owl her, Hermione?" suggested Ron.

Hermione seemed to think this was a good idea, for she ran up to her dormitory. "I'd like to know where Pepper is, too," admitted Harry, chewing on the end of his quill.

"Like you said, I'm sure we've got nothing to worry about," said Ron.

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"I may have to get pulled out of school!" Pepper cried in dismay. Piper had just told her the good news while Leo, Paige and Cole were working on Phoebe. The two of them had gotten frustrated and had left the bathroom. They were currently sitting on the hall floor, listening to Paige's futile attempts to convince Phoebe she was still in love with Cole. "But Aunt Phoebe has got to become a human again! She's just being selfish right now, but I'm sure she'll come to her senses!"

"I'm hoping that's what will happen too, Pep, but you never know. Phoebe can be very stubborn when she wants to be."

"Ah!" Pepper yelled, standing up and bursting into the bathroom. "Aunt Phoebe you BETTER change your ass BACK into a HUMAN right NOW!" she bellowed at her aunt, who looked a little scared at her niece's sudden outburst. "I am NOT being pulled out of school to save innocents because you're being selfish and you're in DENIAL about loving Uncle Cole! I don't really care if you don't want to face all the problems of life! I'd say your life is pretty damn good so you'd better get your legs back if you know what's good for you! I do NOT under ANY CIRCUMSTANCES want to replace you! So admit your stupid LOVE AND GET ON WITH YOUR LIFE!" She stared at her aunt, her eyes narrowed.

Pepper's aunts and uncles were thoroughly stunned. With a last glare, Pepper turned around and walked from the room.

Hermione came back down the stairs and into the common room. "What am I thinking? An owl won't get from here to America in a few hours. I want to know where Pepper is now!" There was a slight pause where Hermione thought of what to do. "I'm going to Professor McGonagall," she decided. "If anyone wants to come with me, they're welcome. I mean, we deserve to know what's going on with our friend, right?"

Harry and Ron both knew that was a rhetorical question so as an answer they stood and followed Hermione from the common room to see Professor McGonagall.

Pretty soon they were knocking on the door of the Transfiguration room. "Come in!" called Professor McGonagall. Hermione, Harry and Ron entered the room. The professor was sitting at her desk, apparently grading papers. "What is it you want?"

"Professor, we were wondering where Pepper is. We're worried that something's happened to her," Hermione spoke up.

"Nothing's happened to Miss Halliwell, I assure you," said Professor McGonagall. "She just had something to tend to at home. If that is all then I bid you all goodnight, I have many papers to attend to."

Not quite satisfied, the three Gryffindors left their Head of House to her work. "Well, that told us about nothing," said Ron as they walked the corridors of Hogwarts.

"At least we know nothing's wrong with her," Harry said, but Hermione wouldn't let it go.

"Harry, you should have some idea of what it's like at her house," Hermione reminded him. "'Something to tend to at home' could mean something's terribly wrong."

**-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

"I DON'T LOVE YOU COLE! NOW TAKE ME BACK TO THE SEA!" Phoebe screamed, grabbing the nearest thing – a bar of soap – and throwing it across the room at Cole. He was the lone soul in the bathroom, besides Phoebe, and had been talking to her for the past two hours. Trying to persuade her to admit her love for him was not an easy task. It was very clear that she wanted to stay a mermaid forever, but no one in the house would have it, much to her great dismay. They had threatened to keep her in the house forever if she didn't turn human again, but she wouldn't listen to them. She knew they would eventually need to take a shower. Or they would grow tired of her. Or they wouldn't be able to stand having her in the house any longer. Any option worked for Phoebe, she knew it was just a matter of time. She just hoped she wouldn't get blown up by a demon before one of these things happened.

Pepper was already tired of her Aunt Phoebe's screams. Her uncle was having little success, that much she could tell. Phoebe hadn't listened to Pepper after she had screamed her head off about her aunt being selfish in denial, and that made Pepper mad. It was evident that becoming a mermaid made her aunt more selfish. At this rate she would never be going back to Hogwarts.

She wandered downstairs in a pair of her Aunt Paige's small pajamas since there was no way she could sleep with Phoebe screaming profanities at Cole all night. It was still early, but Pepper had planned on getting to bed early because she was mad at her aunt, but that didn't seem like a possible thing to do. Scuffling her slippers along the hardwood floor of the foyer, she went into the kitchen to make herself a cup of hot chocolate.

Paige and Piper were in the sitting room, but she passed them undetected and headed into the living room with her hot chocolate to watch some television. As she was searching for the remote under the couch there was a sound behind her. Turning around she saw the head of Headmaster Dumbledore in the fireplace. She quickly tried to pull the low-riding pants up and the small shirt up and down at the same time. "Erm, hi, professor," she said, wondering if anything in her life would ever be normal.

"Are your aunts here Pepper?" asked the head of Dumbledore.

"The ones that aren't mermaids? Yes, hold on, I'll get them." Hurrying into the sitting room Pepper said, "The head of Professor Dumbledore is in the fireplace and he wants to talk to one of you!"

It took her aunts a minute to register the statement before they got up and headed into the living room. Pepper took this opportunity to go grab a robe that turned out to be her Uncle Leo's. On her way back downstairs she caught the tail end of the adults' conversation. She stopped on the stairs to listen.

"So it's fine that her work's sent here? You can do it by Floo?" That sounded like her Aunt Piper.

"Yes, that's perfectly fine, Mrs. Halliwell. Pepper can stay home as long as she is needed," said Dumbledore. "We'll keep your house connected to the Floo Network until she returns to Hogwarts."

Pepper ran down the stairs and into the living room, the robe not doing much good as it flew open. "You're keeping me here?" she panted. "I don't get to go back to Hogwarts?"

"Not until Phoebe comes to her senses and decides to become human again," Piper said. "I dislike the idea as much as you do, Pepper."

"Yes, your situation seems very unusual, Miss Halliwell," Dumbledore said to Pepper. "However, I understand the point of your aunts completely and you will receive all your work at home until you can return to school. In the meantime, I have some people here who would like a word with you."

Dumbledore's head disappeared from the fire and for a moment it seemed as if two people were struggling for control before Hermione's head appeared in the green flames. "Pepper! Hi!" Hermione cried, smiling.

"Hello Hermione," Pepper said, sitting down on the hearth, preparing to be there for a little while.

"Are you all right? Is anything wrong?"

"I'm fine, Hermione, I just can't come back to Hogwarts yet." When Hermione inquired as to why this was so Pepper replied, "My aunt is currently a mermaid who doesn't want to become human again. So I have to stay here and take her place in the Power of Three until she comes to her senses and admits her love for my uncle…well, it's a long story. The short version is that I have to stay here in case a demon attacks and my aunts can't defend themselves. At any rate, I'm stuck here as long as my aunt has got a tail."

"So you're going to miss more classes than you did today?" Hermione asked, eyes wide in something like horror. Pepper smiled at her reaction and nodded. "I trust Professor Dumbledore will have your work delivered to you, then?"

"Yeah, I think that's what he said, though I'm not exactly sure how he's going to do that since we're in totally different time zones. What time is it over there? Because it's only seven thirty here."

"It's half past midnight over here. **(A/N: That is the right time, by the way. My cell phone of all worldly time knowledge told me.) **We really all should be in bed but we wanted to see you to know what's going on and Professor Dumbledore said we could so…here we are. Well, here I am, anyway. And now here's Harry."

Hermione's head left and Harry's appeared in its place a second later. Pepper saw that her aunts were sitting in chairs rather far from the fireplace, having a quiet discussion.

"Hey Pepper," said Harry, getting her attention. He eyes her attire with a raised eyebrow. "Nice pajamas…" he commented, smiling slyly. Pepper closed her uncle's robe. "What's going on? When are you coming back?"

"My aunt's a mermaid, so I could be here for a while," she said.

"_What?_" Harry said in shock. "Your aunt is a _mermaid?_ How did _that_ happen?"

"Well apparently my Aunt Paige was trying to find this Sea Hag to save an innocent and when she cast the spell my Aunt Phoebe got turned into a mermaid…you can ask Hermione for the rest of the story, I guess."

"So you don't know when you're coming back?"

Pepper was glad that not everyone's mind was on her schoolwork. "I'm hoping it's soon but, no, I don't know," she told him.

"Well, Dumbledore said Hermione, Ron and I could bring you your schoolwork if you'd like."

"That sounds good to me, we'll just have to arrange a time when both sides of the world are awake at the same time."

The two shared a smile before Harry said, "We've got to go. I'll see when we can contact each other next."

They said their goodbyes and Pepper told Harry to say thank you to the headmaster before his head disappeared from the fireplace and the green flames were gone.

Pepper spun herself around on the hearth to face her Aunt Paige and Aunt Piper. She was a bit miffed at them for making these plans without her, but she knew that when it came to something as important as being a part of the Power of Three she didn't really have a choice anyway. "So I take it you plan to have me stay here for a while," Pepper said, hugging her knees.

"Well unless Cole can get her to change back today then, yes, I think you'll be here for a bit," said Piper.

"But I'm sure it won't be too long," Paige assured her. "Pretty soon she'll get tired of that tiny bathtub. I'm just wondering when Cole will start threatening her…"

"Perhaps it's just that I can't be a part of the Power of Three," Pepper sighed, rocking back and forth on her butt.

"I know you can, honey," Piper said. "I think the spell just wasn't strong enough. Phoebe's being a mermaid isn't a demon so we can't vanquish it—"

"—But it's a problem we should be able to fix with a spell," said Paige.

"Not everything can be fixed with a spell, Paige," Piper reminded her.

"Do you think it didn't work because it's personal gain?" Pepper suggested.

"I don't think so…" Piper said. "We need the Power of Three to save innocents, so I'd say it's for the greater good."

"What if the Elders are punishing us or something? Like they know the Power of Three can be complete with me or something and they didn't want me going off to school…"

There was a shattering sound from upstairs. With a grimace, Pepper got up and ran upstairs. She opened the bathroom door and walked in, immediately jumping back out into the hall because she stepped on broken porcelain before anyone could warn her about its being there. She looked back into the bathroom. Her Uncle Cole was sitting on the sink, his hair sticking up in all directions. MerPhoebe was sitting up in the tub, her arm still up in the air from launching something at the wall. The small table lamp was on the floor, broken into pieces. Pepper guessed that what she had stepped on was the soap dish.

"Uncle Cole you look like hell, get out," Pepper ordered.

Cole happily obliged, shimmering from the room.

"So I take it you like that tiny, tiny bathtub, Aunt Phoebe," Pepper said, taking a seat on the edge of the sink as Cole had done.

"You can't keep me here forever," Phoebe said, lying back down in the tub.

"I know you love Uncle Cole, Aunt Piper and Aunt Paige know it, Uncle Leo knows it, Uncle Cole knows it and you know it so why don't you just say it out loud so I can go back to school and you can go back to saving innocents and we can all be happy?"

Phoebe didn't answer; she just turned on the water taps to fill the bath more.

"Fine, if you don't want to speak then I will. I think you're being really selfish to me, Uncle Cole, Uncle Leo, Aunt Paige and Aunt Piper by staying a mermaid. How would you feel if a demon killed them because you weren't there to be the Power of Three with them? Or what if a demon killed_ you_? That would suck. Now I know you're not normally this stubborn, I think it's just the mermaidness getting to you. I'm not going back to school, by the way, because you still have a tail and no shirt on. So I'll leave you alone to think on all of that. Okay? Alright, have a nice mermaid sleep." Pepper left the bathroom, closing he door behind her.


	39. Chapter 38: Valentine's Day Part One

**A/N: Thank you my four lone reviewers. And since I only got four reviews, you get a short chapter! Actually it's because I can feel the block of the writer settling over my ideas…ah, phewy. Well, anyway, chapter is here. This could be the last one for a while because midterms are this week and the next one too. **

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**Chapter Thirty-Eight**

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Hermione and Harry took turns delivering Pepper's homework at two o' clock (Pepper's time) every day. Once, when it was Harry's turn, Pepper inquired as to where Ron was and why he wasn't helping Harry and Hermione. Harry replied that he was planning something special, but it was confidential. Hermione was planning something as well, Pepper learned. She wanted to tell Ron that she loved him, and that pamphlet she had sent away for was going to help her.

Hermione, at the request of all in the household, magically made their bathtub bigger so MerPhoebe was more comfortable.

Pepper was not able to be part of the Power of Three, much her to disappointment. Two demons had attacked that, luckily, didn't need the Power of Three to defeat them. Pepper and Piper were able to vanquish one on their own and Pepper, Piper and Paige had blown one up together, though they didn't need a vanquishing spell to do it.

Pepper was keeping up on her work, though she missed school. Harry and Hermione told her that rumors were beginning to start about her absence. Some students were now afraid of Professor McGonagall because they believed she had done something horrible to Pepper; some were saying she was suffering a fate much unlike Ivi Spada for elaborate, grotesque reasons; some even said that she was in the Hospital Wing recovering from an abortion from Draco Malfoy's baby. That was a rumor that would undoubtedly reach the ears of Voldemort.

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On Valentine's Day, at seven a.m., three people shot out of the fireplace at the Manor. Pepper was in the kitchen making breakfast for herself and her mermaid aunt, (since Piper and Paige had already gone out with their valentine's), but when she heard the loud crash coming from the living room and the sound of voices, she rushed into the other room, spatula still in hand. "Harry! Ron! Hermione!" she exclaimed, waving her batter-covered spatula. "Ron, I haven't seen you in ages!" She rushed forward and gave him a hug, getting pancake patter on his shirt from her apron. She then gave hugs to Harry and Hermione. Standing in front of them she said, "What are you guys doing here? Why aren't you off with your Valentines?"

She didn't get an answer. Instead, Hermione gave Pepper a look that said she needed to talk, Harry didn't meet her eyes and Ron's ears turned red. "Well!" Pepper said, trying to pass the embarrassing moment along, "I'm making breakfast – obviously – so let's go to the kitchen!"

Harry, Hermione and Ron followed Pepper into the kitchen. She ordered them to sit down and she went back to the stove, dripping the batter into the heart-shaped cookie cutter she was using. "I thought you guys might have been a demon or something," she said, trying to strike up some conversation.

"And if we were you were going to fight us off with a spatula?" said Ron.

"Hey, don't underestimate my mad spatula skills," Pepper retorted, flipping a pancake.

"Any change in your aunt yet?" Hermione asked.

"Nope," Pepper said sadly, leaving her pancakes to book and hastily setting the table for four. "She's more stubborn than I thought. Plus, now she's more comfortable in that larger bathtub you gave her, Hermione." She went back to tend to her pancakes.

There was a little "wooshing" sound as Cole Shimmered into the kitchen, a bouquet of flowers in hand. Hermione, Ron and Harry looked stunned out of their minds.

"Ah, Uncle Cole, you're just in time for breakfast!" Pepper said cheerfully. She had gotten a lot friendlier with her uncle the past few days, as had the rest of the household. "Though you'll have to set a place for yourself at the table." She turned back to her cooking.

"Why are you so cheerful?" Cole grumbled, grabbing dishes from the cupboard and silverware from a drawer. He took a seat at the table with a surprised Harry, an astounded Ron and an apparently scared Hermione.

"Because my friends showed up unexpectedly," she replied. "And you can't forget the fact that it's Valentine's Day." She piled the pancakes onto a plate and brought them over to the breakfast table. Seeing her friends' reactions she said, "Oh, Uncle Cole, this is Harry, Ron and Hermione. You know, the friends I was telling you about from school?" She took a plate of pancakes for herself and sat up on the kitchen counter. "So, I take it the flowers are for Aunt Phoebe."

"Yes, they are. Any luck with her yet?"

"No. I was hoping that we could convince her that she was missing out on a very romantic date just lying there in that boring ol' tub."

"That's my plan," said Cole, taking a bite of his breakfast. "Perhaps one of your friends could help persuade her…" His eyes shifted from Pepper to the people sitting across the table from him. "You know, tell Phoebe how much you miss Pepper, how she's falling behind in school…"

None of Pepper's friends looked eager to do this. "I'll go," said Ron finally, swallowing as if it were some great task he was accepting. Pepper smiled. She had told her friends that her aunt's boyfriend Cole was part demon but she never knew they'd react like this when they actually met a demon. She wondered what exactly Professor Giancarlo was teaching her class.

After they finished their heart-shaped pancakes Ron took Phoebe's breakfast upstairs. Pepper took his seat at the breakfast table. "So are you four going anywhere special today?" Cole asked.

"I'd like to, but I don't know how long Hermione, Harry and Ron are allowed to stay."

"We're here till five," said Hermione.

"Then I guess we can go out," Pepper said. "Especially if someone has a Valentineeee…" She looked pointedly at Hermione, who shook her head. Pepper was disappointed that she hadn't reconciled with Ron yet. "Well, we'll have to find somewhere where neither of my aunts is going to be."

Ron came into the kitchen, looking a little dazed. "Mr.…err…Cole, she wants to see you," he said uncertainly.

Pepper and Cole both jumped out of their seats. Cole shimmered from the kitchen. Pepper beckoned Harry, Ron and Hermione to follow her as she dashed up the stairs.

Pepper pressed her ear to the closed bathroom door. "Why did you want to see me?" Cole was asking.

"I-I love you, Cole," was Phoebe's muffled response. Pepper grinned widely. Hopefully now her aunt would be a human again…

"Pepper!" Cole called from beyond the door. "Grab a spell and a robe!"

Pepper ran into her Aunt Phoebe's room to grab a robe, then she went up to the attic to grab the piece of paper sticking out of the Book of Shadows. She flew back downstairs and banged open the bathroom door. "Ah!" she cried at once, in great horror. She slammed the door behind her as she went into the room. She didn't want her friends to see this.

"Do you have the spell?" Phoebe asked.

It appeared the confession of love had worked to some extent. Phoebe still had her tail but her mermaid attitude was gone and so were the scales covering her. "Aunt Phoebe, put this on!" Pepper exclaimed, throwing her aunt the robe to cover her half-nakedness.

"Say the spell, Pepper," Cole said.

"What? You think I can do it by myself? Do you think it will work without the Power of Three?"

"You've shown enough power in the past few weeks to do it," Cole told her.

Pepper recited the spell, skeptical that it would work because it hadn't done anything before.

Phoebe's tail disappeared immediately, causing Pepper to let out another cry of fright and to turn around to press herself to the door behind her. Still, she was ecstatic that she had done it. "Woohoo!" she exclaimed to the wooden door. She did a happy dance. Cole and Phoebe laughed and Pepper heard her aunt get out of the tub. "Well, since Uncle Cole has seen you like…like this…and I haven't since you used to bathe me, I think I'll leave." She exited the bathroom as quickly as possible. Once she was in the hallway again she gave Ron a rib-crushing hug. "Ron, you RULE!"

"I…can't…breathe!" Ron choked out. Pepper released him from her death grip.

"She's human again!" Pepper beamed. "And now that that's done, we can go." She turned and, once again, shouted to the bathroom door. "We're going out! I'm taking _my_ car, Aunt Phoebe's cell and her money too! We'll be back later! Don't do anything I wouldn't do!"


	40. Chapter 39: Valentine's Day Part Two

**A/N: Sorry it took so long to get this chappy up but I've had midterms and crap. But here I am with a long-arse chapter! This is like a million pages long. Okay, so maybe only 11, but whatever. This is getting pretty interesting, and I'm not sure what's going to happen next. I'll take a poll at the end of the chapter I guess…**

**ATTENTION EVERYONE! I'M LOOKING FOR A BETA READER! I need to revise my previous chapters and I don't like proofreading before I post, so if you're interested than review or email me. **

**Enjoy! Thank you to my reviewers! Keep those reviews coming!**

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**Chapter Thirty-Nine**

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"Hello, Lora. Do you have any idea why I asked to see you here today?"

"Would it have anything to do with our resident targets for evil?"

"Why, yes, it would."

"I thought so. Listen, sir, I've tried the meeting thing, believe me. It just never works because all of the weird stuff happens in that class and add my duties on to that…it's a lot of work and time."

"But this is also one of your duties, Lora. Perhaps you could corner them after class on a normal day before they dash out the door."

"I don't think that would be a possibility, sir. For one, there is no normal day in my class and for two, I don't think I would be able to grab a hold of them before they escape. I believe the only way I would get them to stick around is to make an announcement in front of the whole class that I need to speak with them."

"Take whatever measures are necessary, Lora. Your instruction was to help protect them. That, after all, is your job."

"Yes, I know, and I apologize for not taking you more seriously sooner. I know being busy is no excuse; I have lives to help protect. Do they have any idea what they are going to be up against?"

"I haven't a clue if they know. We're not even sure what they are going to be up against. I do not think it would be wise to tell them anything about it until we are sure ourselves. Even then I am not sure if we should tell them anything. Is your class being educated in the meanwhile so they will be able to help if need be?"

"Of course they are, sir. I do not know if they understand a word that comes out of my mouth because the ideas are so farfetched to them, but I'm teaching them all the same."

"Then it might be a good idea to test them on the information. It might be crucial that they need to know about all of this before the end, though let's hope they will never use a speck of what they learned about this in their entire lifetimes. However, testing might still be a good idea."

"Better safe than sorry. Was that all you needed to talk to me about, sir?"

"I believe so. Unless there was anything you wanted to talk about, Lora?"

"No, sir, there wasn't anything. I'll arrange a meeting with them tomorrow, then. Considering that they all return tonight…"

"It looks that way. But if they don't return then we'll have to work around it. Good day, Lora."

"Good day."

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Pepper, Harry, Ron and Hermione were trying to decide where to go. Almost no place was open this early, so they were driving the streets of San Francisco, Ron marveling at the fact of how little mermaids wear. He claimed that he wished the mermaid in the portrait in the prefect's bathroom wore as little as Phoebe did. Hermione and Pepper had to take turns hitting him. They ended up driving around, parking, getting out to walk a few miles, getting back in the car and repeating the process a few times until lunchtime.

For lunch they went to a small, moderately crowded café that they didn't need reservations for. Hermione and Pepper sat on the inside of the booths, Harry and Ron sat next to them.

"So, fill me in on all the goings on at Hogwarts," Pepper requested, opening her menu.

"Did I tell you my discoveries on the new girl?" Hermione asked.

"No," Pepper said, looking interested.

"Well, these guys aren't acting _as_ strange around her anymore because they've learned to avert their eyes and think other thoughts…Anyway, I found out that she's part Siren."

"Part Siren?" Pepper repeated, slightly stunned at this news. "Why would Dumbledore let a Siren into the school? Can't you go mad if you obsess over her because of her charms or something…?"

"Yes, my discovery exactly," Hermione said. "I have no idea why Dumbledore would allow a Siren in school. But you have to learn to ignore her and her pull so nothing happens to you."

"Maybe she's on our side and Dumbledore's using her to get to a Death Eater so we can learn stuff about Voldemort's plans," Pepper suggested.

"Perhaps, though I'm not so sure," said Hermione. "I've been paired with her in a few classes and she doesn't seem too friendly."

"What I still want to know is why you're not affected by her at all, Hermione," Ron said.

Hermione's cheeks tinged pink. "It's because I'm so comfortable with who I am," she half-mumbled. "I'm not as insecure as other girls so I don't want to be like Eowyn. No offense, Pepper," she added quickly, looking Pepper in the face.

"That's all right, Hermione, it's not your fault I'm insecure," Pepper said, though she was a little surprised. She didn't think that she was _that_ insecure… "And you shouldn't be embarrassed about being happy with yourself."

"You're probably the only girl in Hogwarts who isn't affected by Eowyn Cuomo," Harry told Hermione. Hermione's cheeks turned pinker at this comment.

Their waiter arrived and they ordered their food, after which Hermione and Harry announced that they needed to go to the lavatory. Actually, Hermione announced it then after some silent prompting from her Harry followed.

Pepper slid in the booth so that she was sitting right across from Ron. "So what are you going to do for Hermione today?" she asked.

"Who said I was going to do anything?" said Ron.

Pepper raised a disbelieving eyebrow at him. "Oh come _on_ Ron, I'm not that stupid. I know you're going to do something because you're not that stupid either."

"Well I was going to ask her to be my girlfriend, but I'm not so sure that I'm going to anymore."

"Why not? I'm sure she'd love that, Ron! Are you doing anything else?"

"I was going to tell her I love her, as well…"

"But you're not so sure? Ron! You can't doubt this! She should know that you love her. I think it's a great idea," Pepper said, elated at this news.

Ron narrowed his eyes at her in suspicion. "Do you know something I don't know?" he asked.

Pepper shook her head, though she could tell Ron wasn't convinced.

Hermione and Harry came back from the bathroom, and a moment later their food arrived. Throughout the meal they made some small talk, Pepper shooting Ron significant looks and Hermione doing the same to Harry.

When lunch was over Pepper decided to take everyone dancing at an old, under-21 disco dance club she knew of. Ron wasn't too keen on the idea but Pepper ignored his protests.

It was only three-thirty in the afternoon but the dance club was already full of people. Pepper immediately grabbed Hermione's wrist to drag her to the dance floor. Hermione grabbed Ron and Ron grabbed Harry so the four friends headed, in a line, out to dance. Pepper started moving at once, not having really danced in public since the Masquerade Ball. Ron just stood there, bobbing his head uncomfortably, until Hermione grabbed his arm and made him dance with her.

Harry made his way over to Pepper, who already had her eyes closed as she danced and who was singing the words of the song. He watched her for a few moments before touching her on the hip to get her attention. She jumped a little and opened her eyes, lowering her arms too.

"I just wanted to tell you that we can start making the potion once we get back to school since we have all the ingredients," Harry yelled at her over the music. She stopped dancing altogether and her eyes got wide. "Do you still want to do it?" he asked her, his hand still on her hip.

She looked down at his hand nervously and he removed it. She looked back up at his face. "Yea, I still want to do it," she told him.

The two of them stood in silence for a minute, not dancing, just looking at each other. The sexual tension was so thick you could slice it in to cubes. Finally Harry excused himself to go get a drink and Pepper slowly started to dance again, trying to forget the feelings that were filling her just moments ago.

Pepper danced her way over to Hermione, who was alone now that Ron had gone off to get a drink with Harry. "Hey!" Pepper called, shimmying up beside Hermione.

"Hi! Has Harry said anything to you?" Hermione asked.

Pepper's movements slowed for a moment. Had Harry talked to Hermione about the Curse? She decided that he hadn't and that Hermione was talking about something totally different. "No," she told Hermione, a puzzled expression on her face.

Hermione pretended that nothing had been said between the two of them as she grabbed Pepper's hand and the two began to dance to the disco music together.

Hours later they returned to the Manor, exhausted and laughing. Pepper stumbled into the door first, panting from laughing so hard. "Hello?" she called into the large house as her friends filed into the foyer behind her. She got no answer so they all went into the sitting room, flopping into chairs. "So, what are we going to do for dinner tonight?" Pepper asked. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm really hungry after all of that dancing."

"Could we go to your aunt's club?" Hermione suggested. "I'd like to go back again."

Pepper shrugged her agreement and Harry and Ron concurred as well. "I want to go change first, though," Pepper said. "After all, we're going out to a lovely Valentine's Day dinner…Come with me, Hermione, I can lend you something."

The two girls headed up the Manor steps to Pepper's room, where Pepper opened her wardrobe at once. She pulled out her favorite dress for herself. It was red with a low neckline and an A-line hem at the bottom. For Hermione she took out her Valentine's Day dress of two years ago, since Hermione was a little smaller than Pepper was. It was long and white with pink and red hearts scattered over the fabric. It was a little more revealing than clothes Hermione usually wore, and she protested a little, but Pepper insisted she wear it. It was obvious that Hermione did not live in a house with three aunts who dressed slightly like tramps.

"Why do girls take so long?" Ron sighed, slumping down in his chair.

"I'm sure it will be worth it, Ron," Harry assured his friend. "Once Hermione comes down those stairs she'll be more beautiful than ever, I'm sure. Then you'll be even more motivated to go through with your plan."

"Pepper says I should tell her, too," Ron said. "She told me it was a great idea and that Hermione would love it if I did that. I think she knows something that I don't."

"She could," Harry shrugged. "She is Hermione's best friend, after all. They probably have long discussions about you when they talk girl stuff."

Ron looked at Harry, intrigued. "You think so?" he said.

"Yeah, I'm sure Hermione talks about all sorts of stuff you do that makes her knees melt…" Harry pretended to swoon and Ron laughed.

"And what about you, Harry? Are you going to do what you wanted to do tonight? Because, like you said, once Pepper comes down those stairs she'll be even more beautiful than usual."

"If that's possible," Harry muttered.

Ron smiled knowingly. "I think you like her more than you're letting on, Harry."

Harry shrugged again. "Don't you agree that she's beautiful?"

"Don't tell Hermione," Ron said seriously, though Harry could tell he was smiling. Harry smiled as well, amused at Ron.

"Do you really love her?" Harry asked.

"Who, Pepper?" Ron joked.

"No, Hermione, you git," Harry said, resisting the urge to roll his eyes.

"Yea, I think I do," Ron said. "I think about her all the time…I don't think I could tell you a time when I'm not thinking about her."

"Sounds like love to me…" Harry said. "Not that I'd know from experience or anything."

"Hey, Harry, when am I going to do this? Knowing Pepper, she'll want us all to sit together at a table and everything, where Hermione and I have no privacy."

"I could drag Pepper off to the bathroom or to dance," Harry suggested. "We'll figure it out, Ron, don't worry."

"You mean like Hermione dragged you off today?" Ron asked. "What was that all about, anyway?"

"She wanted to know if I was going to do anything for Pepper today," Harry said.

"Funny, that's what Pepper asked me when you two left," said Ron. "I wonder if they did that on purpose."

"If they did then that would mean that they both fancy us and they _want_ us to do something for them. Which is a good thing."

"True. What is taking them so long?" Ron cried, tired of waiting for the girls to come downstairs.

"Well WE, unlike you, wanted to actually look nice," came Pepper's accusing tone from the stairs.

Ron and Harry both craned their necks to see Hermione and Pepper descending the stairs in dresses. They both widened their eyes a bit as they stood up and made their way over to the girls, who were heading for the front door. Pepper grabbed her keys off of the rack by the door and they started towards the door and out to Pepper's car to go to P3.

Apparently, a lot of couples liked the club. It was full of two-person tables, candles, and pink. A band was playing on stage, though it was a rather toned down band compared to the ones Pepper was used to hearing here. No one was dancing because the music wasn't exactly for dancing. It was more for falling asleep to, in Pepper's opinion.

The four friends headed over to the bar where Pepper saw her all of her aunts and uncles sitting, plus Paige's date. Pepper sat on a stool next to her Uncle Leo and Harry, Ron and Hermione sat down as well.

"Hey," Pepper greeted.

All of her family plus her Aunt Paige's date turned to look at her down the counter. They all started saying hello to Pepper and her friends simultaneously. When they were through Pepper asked for a table for four.

"Sorry, Pep, but in case you haven't noticed, there are only tables for two," Piper pointed out to her.

"And we can't move them together?" Pepper asked hopefully, already suspecting the answer.

"No, sorry. In case you haven't noticed, the tables are round. Plus, it would ruin the purpose of tables that seat two people," Piper said.

Wrinkling her nose, Pepper headed out into the pink, dimly-lit room to search for two tables close to each other. None of the teenagers could find two tables next to each other because the room was so packed with couples. There was one table in the corner of the club and another one closer to the bar. The four of them stood there, not sure what to do.

"Well," Pepper said, "it looks like we can't sit together." She was about to suggest she sit with Hermione as a joke but Ron said, "Hermione and I will sit together," so quickly she couldn't get any words out.

"All right, but Harry and I are taking the table in the corner; it's the farthest from my family," Pepper said. The pairs went their separate ways, Ron and Harry jumping for joy (inwardly) at these arrangements. Harry made a mental note to thank Ron later.

The table was small and round, decorated with a red tablecloth, a small vase with a single white carnation and a lit pink candle as a centerpiece.

Pepper was surprised when Harry pulled out her chair for her to sit down. Thanking him, she took a seat. "So, how have you liked today?" Pepper asked as they looked at their menus, suddenly feeling uncomfortable. She and Harry were alone – well, as alone as you could be in a club full of people.

"It's been fun," Harry replied. "I'm glad Dumbledore let us leave Hogwarts for the day. Since your aunt is human again are you coming back to Hogwarts with us tonight?"

"I'm not sure, I'll have to talk to my aunts. They may want me to stay until at least tomorrow to make sure everything works out all right."

"I think you should come back tonight, because you've missed so much school already. The rumors flying around are crazy, too."

There was a pause where they both studied their menus. Then Harry said, tentatively, "Pepper, is their anything going on between you and Malfoy? If you don't mind my asking, that is."

She looked up at him from her menu. "There's nothing going on between us, Harry. There was just my pregnancy scare. Now we have sort of an I-owe-him-big-time-because-he-saved-my-ass relationship."

"But you don't…erm…fancy him, do you?"

Pepper looked at Harry in bemusement. "No, Harry, I don't fancy him," she said, though she wasn't so sure if she meant it.

"Oh…ok…good," Harry said, looking back down at his menu.

Pepper was a little confused. Then something hit her about what Hermione had said earlier today: Has Harry said anything to you?

Pepper took a deep breath. Did that mean Harry was going to try and reconcile their relationship? Is that what Pepper wanted? Did he really like her that much?

She decided to study her menu and what was going on at the table of Ron and Hermione. She hoped that Ron was admitting his love for Hermione and asking her to be his girlfriend like he had planned to do.

"Are we going to start making the potion for the Curse as soon as we get back to school?" Harry wondered.

Pepper chose not to look up at him. "If we have a place to do it," she said.

"We definitely have that," said Harry.

Another silence followed, in which their waitress came to take their order. As soon as she left Harry said, "You know you're really beautiful tonight."

"Thanks," Pepper said, feeling her cheeks turning pink. But she couldn't stop thinking about what Hermione had revealed earlier: _It's because I'm so comfortable with who I am. I'm not as insecure as other girls so I don't want to be like Eowyn. No offense, Pepper_. Why was she, Pepper, so insecure? A list of reasons began to form in Pepper's head, but she pushed the list aside, trying to forget about her insecurity.

"Do you know if Ron's going to tell Hermione what he said he might tell her?" she asked Harry.

**----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

"Hermione, there's something I have to tell you," Ron said hesitantly, looking up from his lap at the expectant face of Hermione.

"Yes, Ron, what is it?" Hermione asked. She tucked a piece of hair behind her ear as she waited for what Ron had to say. He seemed very nervous and Hermione wondered if anything was wrong.

"You look gorgeous," he said quickly, suddenly scared of what he really wanted to tell her.

"Thank you," Hermione replied, blushing a little as Pepper was doing at the table across the room.

They sat in an uncomfortable silence for a while, in which their waitress came by and took their orders. Finally, Ron said, "No, Hermione, that's not what I needed to say."

Hermione looked up at him again. "No?"

"No, it wasn't. What I really want to say is…I love you Hermione!"

Hermione's jaw dropped to the floor in shock. She sat like that for a moment before the initial shock wore off and she realized how unattractive she must look. "What?" she hissed.

"I love you," Ron said, lowering his head in shame.

"I love you too," said Hermione, beaming.

Ron raised his head, his eyes as wide as saucers. "Really?" he asked stupidly.

"Yes, you great git!" Hermione giggled.

They both stared at each other, huge smiles on their faces, before Ron decided to pop his next question. "Then, er, do you want to be my girlfriend?" he asked.

Hermione nodded furiously.

**------------------------------------------------**

"Do you think he's done it?" Pepper asked Harry, craning her neck to try and see around the bar. "I'm going to go see, I'll be right back." She got up from the table, much to Harry's disappointment, and went over to casually sit over at the bar with her aunts.

"Hello," she said, going through the hole in the counter so she was behind the bar. "Why are you guys all here and not out on your romantic dates?"

"It's romantic here," Piper said, sounding slightly offended. "The whole staff was decorating all afternoon."

"Well I don't think I appreciate the fact that you took away all the four-person tables, I'm getting just a mite uncomfortable with Harry over there," said Pepper, trying to find Hermione and Ron's table through the dark club.

"Are you really?" Piper asked, raising an eyebrow in question.

"Yes I am," Pepper replied.

"Why? What's he doing?" Paige asked, leaning on the counter. "Oh, Pepper, this is my date Keith, by the way."

Pepper flashed a smile in Keith's direction and he flashed one back at her in greeting. "Anyway, I don't want to go over there again. I've been trying to talk about Ron and Hermione the whole time because I think they're going to admit that they love each other. Hermione said something to me earlier about Harry saying something to me…it's all just confusing and I think it'll end up with Harry asking me to be his girlfriend—again. I don't know if that's what I really want…"

"I thought you still liked him, Pepper," Leo said, stacking up glassware.

Pepper shrugged and finally spotted the table Ron and Hermione were sitting at. "I think I do but our last shot at a relationship ended in shambles over some misunderstandings. I don't know if we trust one another enough on that level. Well, as nice as it's been talking to you all, I'm going to find the lovebirds."

Pepper left the bar but once she got closer to Ron and Hermione, Hermione caught Pepper's eye and gave her a look that told her to scram. So, Pepper went back to her table, where Harry was sitting all alone.

"Sorry about that," she said as she sat down. "I think they're officially a couple now."

"Finally," Harry muttered.

Pepper was tired of this obvious awkward state between the two of them so she blurted out, "Harry, will you just say what you need to say? We're always so comfortable with each other but this night has just been awkward!"

Harry looked at her in surprise. "I wanted to ask you if you wanted to be my girlfriend," Harry said plainly.

"Oh," Pepper said, only a little surprised at this offer. "Well…" She knew that she still liked Harry, she just wasn't sure if she was ready for another relationship with him. "You see Harry, I like you…a lot…but after what happened to break us up I'm not sure if we're really ready to be boyfriend and girlfriend."

Harry chose not to say anything to this. "You mean because we don't trust that we won't cheat on one another?" he asked after a while.

Pepper nodded. "Exactly. I mean, it was just stupid, what ruined our relationship, and I don't really want that to happen again."

"So you think we should work more on our trust issues?"

"Yeah, I suppose that's what I think we should do that. Perhaps we need to get to know each other better or something, I'm not really sure. All I know is there's something we need to work out before we jump in to a relationship like that. I really value your friendship, Harry, and I don't want that to be ruined."

"But you _do_ like me?"

"Yes," Pepper said, smiling, "I do like you Harry."

"Well good, at least that's settled," he said.

"Halliwell!"

Pepper heard the shout (as did most of P3) and turned her head to look at the owner of the suspiciously familiar voice.

Draco Malfoy was hurrying towards her, weaving his way through tables and waitresses. Pepper and Harry stared at him in disbelief. Pepper wondered if she was seeing things. He reached their table, a little out of breath, but there was still a composed demeanor about him.

"Malfoy?" Pepper asked, getting out of her chair.

He scanned her body with his eyes and smirked before speaking. "Listen – the Dark Lord's coming. He's got a tracking device on you and he knows that you're here, away from Hogwarts, where Dumbledore isn't. I don't think he knows Potter's here, but he knows you're vulnerable."

Pepper stared at him in shock and utter disbelief, her mouth as big as it could be. "Why's Voldemort coming after me now? To kill me? Doesn't he still think that I'm carrying his heir?"

"Look, there isn't much time to explain, you've got to get all of these people out of here."

Pepper, bewildered, rushed over to the bar; pulling her Aunt Piper out of it so she could talk to her away from her Aunt Paige's date. "What is it?" Piper asked, irritated.

"Get everyone out of here, right now. Voldemort's coming here so they could die."

Piper's eyes had question in them but Pepper said, "Just do it!"

Pepper didn't pay attention to the excuse Piper made up to get everyone out of the club; her head was spinning too fast. Could Malfoy really be here, telling her what he just did? Was Voldemort really coming to P3? Did he really have a tracking device on her? Why was he attacking her here? now?

Malfoy and Harry came over to Pepper, as well as Hermione and Ron. "Pepper, what's going on? Why's everyone leaving? What's _he _doing here?" Ron asked, wrinkling his nose at the sight of Malfoy.

"Relax Ron," Pepper said absentmindedly, watching the grumbling couples file out of the club. She couldn't believe Voldemort was going to come here…

Harry touched her arm to get her to come back to her senses. "Pepper, we've got to do something."

Pepper's aunts and uncles wanted to know what was going on, too. They all crowded around. "Pepper, why did you want everyone to leave?" Paige asked. "And who's this?" She indicated Malfoy.

"This is Malfoy," Pepper said.

"Isn't he supposed to be evil?" Paige asked.

"Well, yes, but—oh there's no time, I'll explain later. Malfoy, I'd introduce all my family, but I don't think there's time. Anyway, so Malfoy claims –"

"I don't _claim_ anything, Halliwell. I just came from a Death Eater meeting, I know what's going on!" Malfoy shouted, angry.

Pepper grimaced at him a bit before continuing, "Okay, so Malfoy knows that Voldemort has some sort of tracking device on me and he knows I'm vulnerable because I'm not at Hogwarts so he's coming here. Wait, Malfoy, why's he coming? Did he find out I'm not really carrying his heir?"

"What?" Phoebe shouted. "You mean you're pregnant!"

"No!" Pepper said quickly. "I thought I was for a bit but…another time, okay, that's a long story. In short, I'm not pregnant with Voldemort's heir even though he thinks I was." She turned to Malfoy again. "So explain to me why he's coming here!"

"He thinks you're too innocent and good to carry his heir, Halliwell," Malfoy smirked. "He wants his evil baby to be in an evil body. He thought that the baby would turn you evil but since it's been two months and that hasn't happened he thinks you're having a negative effect on it so he wants to kidnap you, put the baby in someone else's body and kill you."

"But that's what the Seer wanted to happen when Phoebe was pregnant," Cole said.

"That means," said Pepper, "that Voldemort's working with the Seer! Damn! Does this mean factions of demons will be coming too?"

"I bet that's how he knows where you are, Pepper," said Leo. "Because the Seer saw you were here."

"But doesn't that mean he'll know the Charmed Ones and Harry Potter and the former Source are here?" Piper wondered.

"So Voldemort and the Source are working TOGETHER?" Pepper cried.

"But what's the Source to get out of all this?" Paige wondered.

"They both want Pepper dead," Piper whispered, but everyone could hear her.

"Why would they want me dead?" Pepper asked.

"Because you're the most powerful witch in the world," Leo said.

Pepper stared at him. "Are you serious?" she asked. "Do I, like, threaten them or something so they want to kill me? Oh my god, I'm going to die! We're no match for them!"

"Calm down, Pepper, we can figure this out," Phoebe said. "We can use the Source vanquishing spell…"

"But we don't know it!" said Paige. "Though I could always orb back to the Manor and find it…"

"No," Malfoy said, "we're going to need all the help we can get."

"Has Dumbledore been informed?" Hermione asked.

Malfoy nodded. "Though I'm not sure how long it will take him to get here. I Apparated here, but sent an owl to Dumbledore right before I left the Death Eaters meeting."

"So does this mean that Voldemort and the Source are on their way here?" Pepper asked in horror.

"What's the Source?" Ron asked rather loudly.

"The source of all evil," Pepper replied, turning back to wait for Malfoy's answer to her question.

Ron's mouth dropped open. "The source of all evil is coming HERE?" he exclaimed.

"That's what I'm trying to find out!" Pepper said, turning her attention to Malfoy once more.

"I think they've got to do some last minute plans and then, yes, they're on their way over here," said Malfoy.

"To kidnap me and take my nonexistent baby and then kill me?"

Malfoy nodded. "They'll probably be here within the next half hour, and I'll bet they send some Death Eaters ahead of them."

"Probably some demons as well, by the sound of it," Leo said.

"Shit," Pepper said. "This is just great."

"We won't let them take you, Pep," Piper said reassuringly. "We'll do whatever it takes to protect you."

"Some Aurors might be handy right about now," Harry said.

"Wait – Harry – this could be your chance to fulfill the Prophecy," Hermione said, turning to him. "Since Voldemort will probably be focusing his attention on Pepper you can catch him off guard…"

"Do you think the demons will band together to kill me?" Pepper asked her uncles, wondering if either one of them had an answer.

"When I was the Source I tried telling them we had to band together to achieve one common goal, but they wouldn't listen. Thus, I doubt they will do that," her Uncle Cole said.

"Well at least that's some good news…" Pepper sighed.

Her aunts and uncles went off to the bar to form a plan, leaving Harry, Ron, Hermione, Pepper and Malfoy standing there. "Why does everything always have to happen to me?" Pepper asked miserably.

"You're the most powerful witch in the world, Pep, I'm sure you'll be able to do something about this," Ron said.

"Obviously you have never met the Source," Pepper mumbled.

Piper came back over to the group of teens. "Paige orbed home to grab the Book of Shadows. Do you all have your wands?" she asked. All five of them nodded. "Good."

Suddenly, a demon appeared behind Harry. Luckily, Pepper was standing across from him so she yelled, "Look out!" in time.

Before the demon could throw anything at anyone, Piper blew him up. "So is this how they're going to play this game?" Piper asked. "Well, I think we're okay if they're sending a demon at a time. We can do this, Pepper, don't you worry."

**-------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**A/N: Okay, so I'm wondering what's going to happen. Should Pepper A) be kidnapped, B) save the day, C) go out with Harry, or D) Die!!! Alright, so I know that last one probably won't be a popular thing, but whatever. So tell me what you think, you can have more than one answer…**


	41. Chapter 40: The Battle!

**A/N: Hello, lovely readers. I'm sorry for the delayed short chapter, but I've been pretty busy lately. This one is confusing…anyway, thank you for answering my poll and reviewing, it's very much appreciated. I don't really have anything to any of you except **

KrystalK8: **Thank you so much. I feel so loved. Tell your mate I say I'm sorry.**

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**Chapter Forty**

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"Can we trust him?" Tonks asked, searching through the kitchen for her wand. "Are we sure it's not just a trick?"

"Dumbledore has informed us that it isn't a trick. Draco Malfoy was sent to the Death Eater meeting for a reason; he was initiated for a reason, and we were ordered to go. Thus, we should go. We need to go, especially if Dumbledore says this is three times as dangerous as Voldemort alone," Molly Weasley said. "We should hurry up, too. It sounds like they're all in great danger."

Garrick Ardel appeared in the doorway to the kitchen. "We're all ready to go," he told the women. "The Aurors have been informed about what's going on and they're on their way."

"I hope we can get there in time…" Molly said worriedly. "There's no telling what Voldemort will do to that poor girl."

"Kill her, that's what!" Tonks exclaimed, finding her wand in the cutlery drawer. "Ah-ha! Let's go!"

The three of them hurried into the entryway, where all the Order was already assembled. "Ready?" asked Arthur Weasley.

"What if we Apparate to the wrong place?" Tonks asked.

"Well, we'll just have to hope that we don't."

**----------------------------------------------------------------------------**

"Full alert?"

"Yes, sir, we've got all the Aurors on their way there."

"You do realize that most of them will get lost while they're Apparating?"

"Yes, I do realize that, but we'll just have to risk it. This girl could change our futures, for better or for worse, so I think she's worth loosing a few Aurors for a couple days."

"Whatever you say, sir. What should I tell the Aurors to do?"

"Tell them that their top priority is to protect the girl. They can Apparate there as soon as you get your arse out there with them. Has Lora been contacted as well?"

"Yes, as has Dumbledore; by the boy, I hear."

"Very well, I suspect we need to leave now."

"Yes sir."

**----------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

"They're all on their way, Lora, I think it would be best if you went now as well."

"But, sir, wouldn't it be best if you went ahead and I finished organizing the teachers? I think you'd be a bigger help to them then I would."

"Nonsense, Lora, you're a trained Auror. You will be able to help much more than I will."

"But Voldemort's scared of you, sir, I think you will be loads more help."

"Lora, I insist you go before me. I have a few last things to talk to Professor McGonagall about before I go."

"All right…what are we going to do with all of the students?"

"They are not to be informed; we do not want them to panic. We're going to run the school as normal and Professor McGonagall is going to tell all of the students at dinner that I received an urgent message from the Ministry and had to go to France at once. They will never know the real reason I disappeared. Well, perhaps they shall find out tomorrow when we all return. But for now, they are going to be led to believe that I am in France. We are wasting time; I think you should go join the fight, Lora. I will be along shortly."

"Should we get Miss Weasley?"

"No, I don't see the need to worry her just yet."

"But she might want to help fight."

"Yes, I am aware of this. However, I don't think she is needed in this particular battle. I'm sure there will be another one for her to take part in."

With a shrug, Professor Lora Giancarlo exited the Headmaster's office, headed for the Forbidden Forest so she could Apparate from the premises.

**-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

"WE CAN'T HOLD THEM OFF MUCH LONGER!" Pepper cried desperately to anyone who was nearby. She and Ron were currently trying to hold three demons at bay, but they were beginning to learn how to resist her freezing power, and she had used up all of the potions that duplicated her Aunt Piper's exploding power. Pepper herself had no powers to vanquish demons.

It didn't seem that anyone was able to come over and help her and Ron, so she suddenly had an idea. "Ron!" she yelled, deflecting the demon's power back at him, which he dodged. "MAKE ME MAD!"

"WHAT?" Ron yelled back, confused.

"MAKE ME MAD! I HAVE AN IDEA!"

She was already trying to recall moments in her life that really pissed her off, and soon her face was red with anger. And that was even before Ron started yelling things at her. "CAN I BE MEAN?" Ron yelled.

"YES!" Pepper said, swerving out of the demon's fireball.

"PEPPER YOU'RE SUCH A HORRIBLE FRIEND! YOU MAKE EVERYONE MAD AND THEN TRY TO PRETEND LIKE IT'S NOT YOUR FAULT AT ALL! YOU SNOGGED MALFOY AND THEN MAKE HARRY THE BAD GUY FOR SNOGGING GINNY! YOU PISSED HERMIONE OFF AND THEN PRETENDED LIKE AN APOLOGY WOULD MAKE IT ALL BETTER! YOU THINK OF NO ONE BUT YOURSELF!" It went on but by this time Pepper channeled all the anger into what she wanted and seconds later two clones appeared by her side. Acting on what she was thinking (and her frightened feelings) they began to help fight the demons.

Ron looked a little surprised at what had just happened, but he didn't think much of it since the clones were helping fight the demons and they needed all the help they could get at the moment.

Seconds later two more clones appeared. Now there were five Peppers, each with five powers, and they all began fighting Death Eaters and demons alike. Little did Pepper know, this power would come in great handy.

**----------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

"Are we in the right place?" Tonks asked whoever would answer.

"Yes, this is one of the sister's club," Ardel answered, coming up to stand beside Tonks.

"We've lost five people," Arthur Weasley said loudly. "Let's just hope they didn't land in the ocean."

"Are we ready to go in?" Ardel wondered.

"Aren't we going to wait for Dumbledore and all of the Aurors?" said Tonks.

"I doubt there's time," Arthur replied, walking over to the two. "I think we should go in now."

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

"You said she would be defenseless, Seer," growled Voldemort in his sickeningly high-pitched voice.

"I said she would be where Dumbledore is not," the Seer replied. "I did not see the Charmed Ones there, only Harry Potter was at her side."

The Source threw an energy ball at the old, decaying wall, putting a hole in the wood. "You'd better be more reliable next time, Seer, or that wall will be your head," he threatened.

"I apologize, but still, are they not outnumbered? We are still able to catch the Halliwell girl, correct?" said the Seer. "We have enough demons and Death Eaters to overcome their small group."

"How should we know if we're able to catch her?" Voldemort said. "You're the one who can see what is going on. Now tell us what is happening!"

The Seer's eyes glazed over as Voldemort and the Source waited impatiently. "The girl is in trouble," said the Seer manically. "She'll be taken any moment now…"

**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

"PEPPER!" Ron cried as the girl was picked up by a demon's power and thrown through the air. She spun as she flew, hitting high on the wall near the ceiling. She fell with an alarming speed, landing hard on the floor.

He rushed over to her (he was pretty sure it was the real Pepper) and knelt down on the floor next to her. The demon that was about to attack him was attacked himself by Harry, who had seen Pepper be thrown into the wall. As Harry dashed over to Pepper and Ron, the Order of the Phoenix and a pack of Aurors came herding into P3, overcoming demons and Death Eaters as they went. This gave Pepper's aunts the opportunity to look surprised and rush over to their fallen niece.

"GET HER OUT OF HERE!" Lora Giancarlo shouted at the same time a Death Eater screamed, "GET HER!" There was a mad scramble to get Leo over to Pepper to orb her to Hogwarts (Paige had to stay so the Power of Three could vanquish some of these demons) and the Death Eaters and demons tried to fight their way to the unconscious girl to take her to Voldemort and the Source.

But the other Pepper's were confusing the bad guys, as they were taunting the Death Eaters and poking fun at the demons, telling them that each of them was Pepper.

Malfoy fought his way over as well, but before he could get to the battling group around Pepper he was grabbed by a Death Eater. "Well, well, well, what do we have here?" the Death Eater snarled in a voice familiar to Draco. "We'll just have to show _this_ to the Dark Lord…" and with a _pop_ the two were gone.

**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

"What are you doing here, Lucius? Do you have the girl?" Voldemort hissed as the Death Eater appeared in the dimly lit room.

"No, my Lord, but I found something interesting," Lucius said, bowing before Voldemort while his son struggled to get out of his grasp. Lucius threw Draco down on the floor in front of Voldemort's chair. The Source watched with interest.

"Now what do we have here?" Voldemort drawled lazily.

Draco bowed low to Voldemort. "My Lord," he said. It had been a stupid idea, now that he thought about it, to fight alongside Good. His place had always been with Evil and he knew that, but he was tired of taking all of his father's orders and following in his father's footsteps. And now he was going to pay for his mistake.

"He was fighting with the Halliwells," Lucius sneered.

Voldemort turned to Draco. "Is this true?"

Draco nodded truthfully. Voldemort raised his wand immediately but Draco pleaded, "Please, Lord, give me a chance to explain myself." Voldemort didn't lower his hand but he sat there in silence, waiting.

**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

"Leo, get her out of here!" Piper cried frantically, blowing up a lower level demon. "Paige! Help him get all of us out of here! It's getting too dangerous! Make sure the kids get out first!"

Leo grabbed Hermione, Harry, Ron and Pepper before orbing from the club. One of Pepper's clones grabbed on to Leo as he orbed out.

Feeling threatened, Paige took hold of her sisters and the rest of Pepper's clones (since they didn't seem to be going anywhere any time soon) and followed Leo from the room, leaving stunned Death Eaters and deflated demons in her wake.

The remaining Aurors and Order of the Phoenix members followed suit, Apparating from P3 since they were no longer needed.

**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

"Lucius, what do you think would be appropriate punishment for your son?" Voldemort asked wickedly, his wand pointed almost lazily at the twitching, writhing, screaming boy on the ground.

Lucius knew this was a rhetorical question so he kept silent, watching his son suffer under the Cruciatus Curse.

"He should kidnap the Halliwell girl for us," said the Source, entering from the adjoining room. "The Seer has just informed me that the Halliwells have managed to escape, and the girl's baby might have suffered a massive blow when she was thrown into a wall by a demon. Therefore, we still need to capture Pepper Halliwell. Since young Malfoy here is always in such close proximity to her, he should do the job for us."

Voldemort lifted the curse from Draco for a minute. Draco lay there, head down, mulling all of this over. He couldn't hear every word that was being spoken by the Source but he got the main idea of what he was saying: he, Draco, would have to kidnap Pepper so Voldemort could take her nonexistent baby away from her and then kill her. And he was going to have to do it if he wanted Voldemort and his father to believe the story he had told them, which was that the Charmed Ones had put a spell on him so that he would fight on their side.

"I like it," said Voldemort coldly.

This was going to be a problem.

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**A/N: REVIEW!!! PLEASE! YES! YOU KNOW YOU WANT TO! CLICK THE LITTLE PURPLE BUTTON!**

**Oh, and in case you guys didn't know, I revised the prologue.**


	42. Chapter 41: Plans and Peppers

**A/N: Yay! A chapter in three days! Actually, I wrote this all today so I rock. It's sorta short but oh well. Thank you to all my wonderful reviewers, you all make my day! I don't really know what else to say…this chapter isn't very eventful but it explains some things and yea. So read on!**

**Oh, and meagan, I expect to be done with this story by then, I think. Though, I'm not EXACTLY sure. But, don't worry; there will be a sequel. I think. If people want one. **

**Anyway, on with the chapter! OH! **

**HAPPY SEVEN MONTH ANNIVERSARY TO MY STORY! This thing has taken up the past 7 months of my life…wow, I'm a loser. **

**--------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Chapter Forty-One**

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"She isn't waking up," Phoebe said nervously. "Why isn't she waking up?

They had all been in the Hogwarts hospital for over an hour. Leo had tried healing Pepper numerous times but only her cuts and bruises had disappeared and she was still unconscious. At current, Madam Pomfrey had Pepper's bed enclosed in a curtain so she could run some magical tests. Piper, Paige, Phoebe, Leo, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Cole (who had shimmered from the club by himself) and Professor Dumbledore were waiting anxiously. They had already established that Malfoy had most likely gone back to Death Eater headquarters so he wouldn't get caught fighting on the side of good. But Dumbledore was beginning to worry about him.

Madam Pomfrey emerged from behind the curtain. "May I see Miss Halliwell, Mrs. Halliwell, Mr. Turner, Mr. Wyatt and Miss Matthews, please," she requested, moving to a more secluded spot of the hospital wing. Pepper's aunts and uncles followed the mediwitch to the other side of the room, identical worried looks on all of their faces. Madam Pomfrey gave them a consoling look before she began. "It appears that Miss Halliwell was hit with a very powerful spell containing some Dark Magic that had some sort of reaction with a complicated potion she seems to have consumed. That was also mixed with being thrown against a wall, so, in result, she lost her baby and she'll be asleep for a few days. She also might have some brain damage."

The family stood there in shock. "She consumed a very complicated potion?" Paige said, confused.

"She was PREGNANT?" Phoebe cried.

"Brain damage!" Piper exclaimed. Leo put a comforting arm around his wife.

Madam Pomfrey looked slightly puzzled. "You didn't know she was pregnant?"

"But Pepper said that she wasn't pregnant, Voldemort just thought she was," Cole reminded them.

Madam Pomfrey decided not to get in to this; she knew what she knew, so she left to go talk to Professor Dumbledore.

"What potion could she have drunk?" Piper wondered, trying to stay calm. She wasn't sure who to believe on the issue of Pepper's pregnancy – her niece or the mediwitch.

"Could it have been that potion that could help bring Sirius back to life?" Phoebe suggested.

"She said she and Harry weren't going to do it because it was too dangerous—"

"But what other explanation could there be?"

"Why don't we ask Harry, he would know," Leo said. Liking the idea, Paige beckoned Harry over to them. Concerned and confused, he came over to the group.

"Is Pepper going to be all right?" he asked.

"Harry," Piper said, avoiding his question, "we were wondering if you and Pepper tried that curse to bring Sirius back to life."

Harry knitted his eyebrows together. "No, we didn't. Why do you ask?"

"You didn't even drink the potion?" Paige said.

"No," Harry replied. "Why, is something wrong?"

Phoebe bit the side of her lip. "Well Madam Pomfrey says that Pepper consumed a complicated potion. It was mixed with a powerful spell full of Dark Magic and her collision with the wall so the result was that she may be asleep for a few days. And she lost her baby that she never had. And…and she might have some brain damage."

Harry's eyes widened in surprise at this news. "Brain damage?"

Phoebe nodded. "Yes, but Madam Pomfrey said it's a maybe that she has any. There are a lot worse things that could happen."

"I suppose," Harry said.

"So do you have any idea what the complicated potion could be, Harry?" Paige asked.

Harry shook his head. "You'll probably have to talk to Malfoy about that. If he'll even talk to you, that is…"

"What do you want to know?" Malfoy appeared in the hospital wing. He didn't look too good. He was paler than normal, the usual drawl in his voice wasn't as prominent, and there were traces of bruises on his face, though he had used numerous Concealment Charms on the bruises.

The assembled group turned to look at him. "Harry says you'd know something about a complicated potion Pepper drank," Piper said.

"And perhaps you'll know something about her pregnancy as well," Paige said, none too friendly.

Phoebe shot Paige a glare. "Sorry, I don't think we've been properly introduced, I'm—"

"Phoebe, Paige, Piper, Leo…yea, I know," Malfoy said.

Phoebe was a bit taken aback by his curtness. She was also curious as to know how he knew their names. Were he and Pepper friends now…? No, because at P3 Pepper had said she needed to introduce them…

"Look," said Malfoy, "the Dark Lord had wanted me to get Halliwell pregnant so he could have an heir. To her I made it look like we'd shagged but we really didn't. I gave her a potion so Madam Pomfrey would think that she was pregnant for a few months and then it would seem like she had a miscarriage, just so the Dark Lord wouldn't know I hadn't done his bidding. I thought there would be at least eight months before he came to claim the baby, but obviously his plans changed. He wanted his heir to grow up in an evil body. There, is that all you needed to know?" That last sentence dripped with sarcasm.

"No," said Piper, not at all appreciating the tone he was taking with them. "I'd also like you know why Pepper trusts you."

Malfoy raised an eyebrow in nonchalance. "You'll have to ask her," he said. And at that, he went to get Madam Pomfrey, his bruises becoming apparent now. Dumbledore caught him as he collapsed, whisking him to a bed behind a curtain, Madam Pomfrey in tow.

Ron and Hermione came over to the Charmed Ones, Leo and Cole, leaving Pepper's clones to sit in the waiting chairs. "Is Pepper going to be all right?" Hermione asked, obviously very worried. Ron grabbed her hand and squeezed it reassuringly.

"She'll be asleep for a few days," Paige said. "And she may have some brain damage."

Hermione had a sharp intake of breath. "Brain damage?" Her reaction was the same as Harry's had been.

"Madam Pomfrey's not sure if she'll have any, there's just a chance that she will," Leo said. "I'm sure she'll be okay, Pepper's strong."

"Harry, do you think Voldemort will be back?" Paige asked, wanting to change the subject, as Hermione's lip was starting to wobble.

"No, Dumbledore's the only one Voldemort has ever been afraid of," Harry said. "So I don't think he'll be back. Not for a while, anyway. Do you think the demons will be back?"

"They could be," Piper said, "especially if the Seer knows that Pepper's defenseless."

"But she's not defenseless," Cole said. "Her four clones are still here."

"Oh yea! And we know from experience that they're definitely not defenseless," said Hermione. "So if something does attack here then there will be three times Pepper's regular power…"

"Yes, but are they still powerful with Pepper unconscious?" Paige wondered.

"And how do we know they won't disappear?"

"Or they might just Mirror away…"

"And what are we going to do? We can't just go back to the Manor with Pepper here in danger…"

"But we can't _leave_ the Manor prone to demon attack, can we?"

"I think the demons are focused on the destruction of Pepper, right now, as much as we may dislike it."

"So should we stay here to protect her?"

"But what if demons _do_ attack innocents and we're needed in San Francisco?"

"Then Leo can call us…we can send Leo and Cole back there or something."

"If Cole's sticking around on the side of Good, that is…"

"I am."

"So we should stay here?"

"Shouldn't we talk to Professor Dumbledore first? We can't just invite ourselves to stay here. There might not even be any room for us."

"I'm sure he wouldn't mind. He'll understand that you want to stay here to protect Pepper. Besides, I'll bet that there are millions of unused rooms here."

"Would it be best for us to stay here, though? I mean, Dumbledore's warned us about revealing ourselves to the Death Eaters and Voldemort before it's necessary—"

"They already know about us! Don't you recall that battle that happened earlier tonight? I don't think there will be any harm in it."

Professor Dumbledore made his way over to the large group discussing the plans of the Charmed Ones.

"I trust you five will want to stay here at Hogwarts until your niece wakes up," he said.

They were all a little surprised that Dumbledore had known exactly what they had been discussing. "Yes, if it's not too much trouble," Piper said.

"Actually, we were going to send Leo and Cole back to the Manor and the three of us were going to stay here…if that's alright," said Phoebe.

"Perfectly fine," Dumbledore smiled. "I'll see if I can get you a room right away. If you'll follow me to my office please, you can wait in there while I find some accommodations, I'm sure you're tired after the day's events."

"Thank you, sir," Piper said. Then she turned to Leo. "Leo, you and Cole go back to live at the Manor while we're here, okay? Call us if we're needed." She stood on her tiptoes to kiss him. "Watch out for Cole," she murmured into his lips. Leo nodded before grabbing Cole's arm and orbing from the hospital wing.

"Miss Granger, Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley, will you kindly take one of Pepper's clones back to your dormitory?" Dumbledore requested. "We can pretend that one of them is the real Pepper. You may tell the students that Pepper has been away at her aunts' house, visiting because her aunt was in the hospital for a time. We mustn't let anyone know the truth. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir," Hermione said. She beckoned to one of Pepper's clones. "Come on, erm…Pepper," she said and, to her slight surprise, the clone followed her. She, Harry, Ron and the Pepper double left the hospital wing to go back to Gryffindor Tower.

"Miss Halliwell, Mrs. Halliwell, Miss Matthews, will you kindly follow me to my office? We'll have to devise a way to bring the other three of Pepper's clones as well…"

"I could orb them to your office, professor," Paige suggested.

Dumbledore smiled. "Thank you, Miss Matthews."

Paige grabbed the other three clones and orbed to Dumbledore's office while Piper and Phoebe followed him out of the hospital wing. They were both wondering what was going to happen – to themselves and Pepper – and they both figured it probably wasn't going to be good.


	43. Chapter 42: Waking Up

**A/N: Sorry this took so long but I tried many different ways to do this chapter. This is the result…obviously. **

**-**

**Chapter Forty-Two **

**-**

She awoke to the best-looking face she had ever seen. Though, once she thought about it, it was the only face she had ever seen. This face had dark brown, floppy hair and honey-colored eyes and was seen from over the shoulder of another person. The arms that belonged to that face were wrapped around that other person.

The honey eyes met hers and he sat up, letting go of the other person the other person turned around to look at her, smiling. The other person had blonde hair and green eyes. A girl.

She watched as he whispered something in that girl's ear before getting up from where he was sitting. She didn't want him to go.

She shifted, feeling her limbs. Her eyes followed him to where he left, but the girl caught her attention with words. "How are you feeling?"

Something clicked in her brain in familiarity with the voice but she couldn't place it. She sat up and glanced around the room. It was mostly white, though the walls were stone. "Where am I?" she said. Her voice sounded strange to her and she reached up to touch her throat.

The girl gave her a puzzled look. "Pepper…" the girl began, but was cut of by a middle-aged woman coming over with the boy. They were followed by a third person that had bushy hair.

The woman swooped down on her, feeling her forehead and other such fussing. She was taken aback and laid back down. "How are you feeling?" the woman asked her.

"All right, I suppose," she said. "But who are you? Where am I?"

The bushy haired girl looked down at her with concern.

"Oh dear," the woman said. She shooed everyone else away from the bed. "Go fetch the Halliwells," the woman commanded.

-

"She WHAT?" Piper shouted.

Hermione had gone as quickly as she could to the tower the Charmed Ones were currently occupying after Madam Pomfrey had sent her. Hermione had also instructed Blaise Zabini and Alana Stoke to return to their common room.

"She seems to have lost her memory," Hermione repeated for a hysterical Piper. Phoebe and Paige were on their way down the stairs. Hermione herself was having a hard time staying calm. "She had no idea who any of us were or where she was. Madam Pomfrey wants you down there."

Piper was hastily tying her bathrobe, as Hermione had woken her up from sleep.

"What's wrong?" Phoebe asked, slightly bleary from just waking up. She was also throwing on her robe, as was Paige, who was following Phoebe down the stairs.

"We have to go to the hospital wing – now!" Piper exclaimed.

"Has Pepper woken up?" Paige asked. But Hermione didn't hear an answer because Piper had dragged her sisters out of their temporary apartment.

Hermione sighed shakily…_So Pepper does have brain damage,_ she thought. _I'll have to tell Harry, Ron and…the other Pepper. _

-

"I still cannot see them," the Seer reported.

The Source growled in anger. "You have not been able to see any of them for three weeks! You are useless!"

"Perhaps they have come up with a spell that blocks them from your Sight," said Voldemort.

"We can still waken the girl if we send demons to attack her," said the Seer. "She is the only one at Hogwarts who knows how to vanquish them."

"But Dumbledore could probably do damage to them," Voldemort said. "Though we have demons in numbers so we could spare a few to weaken her."

"Their numbers are thinning!" said the Source, angry. "And it is not your right to order them around! _I _could only spare a few. We lost many in the battle."

"We work together!" Voldemort hissed, standing. "I can order them around if I choose."

"They won't listen to you!"

"We'll just see about that!"

-

All of Pepper's friends and teachers had been informed of her unconsciousness. They all took turns visiting her when they could and Alana had brought her boyfriend, which is how Blaise had ended up by Pepper's bedside. Friends and teachers also knew of the replacement Pepper so they could try and act normal around her. Pepper's aunts had stayed out of sight, just in case news of them away from the Manor reached the ears of evil. Surprisingly, Leo and Cole had only called them to the Manor twice in the past three weeks. They took that as a bad sign.

-

Hermione dashed up the boys' dormitory stairs. She had searched her dorm room and couldn't find the fill-in Pepper anywhere. She went into the sixth-year boy's dormitory to find the lights out. All the boys were asleep. There was only a little light coming in from the window.

"Lumos," she muttered, lighting the end of her wand.

The first bed she looked into was, luckily, Ron's. She poked his shoulder to wake him up but he didn't respond. "Ron!" she whispered, putting her wand to his face.

He groaned, opening his eyes. "Hermione!" he said loudly, sitting up. Hermione took a step backwards, her wand lighting up the whole section of the room, revealing that Ron was only wearing pajama pants. Hermione felt her cheeks heat up, and Ron shielded his eyes from the light.

"Nox," Hermione said so her wand was extinguished. Her voice was still a little shaky from being in the dark about Pepper's condition.

"What's wrong, Hermione?" Ron asked, noticing her wobbly voice. He reached out for her in the dark and grabbed her arm, sitting her on the edge of the bed. "Did something happen when you went to visit Pepper? Is she alright?"

"Where's temporary Pepper?" Hermione asked in a whisper, trying to keep her voice steady.

"Probably in bed," said Ron. "Hermione, is something wrong with Pepper?" He moved to dangle his feet off the bed, sitting next to Hermione so he could rub her back reassuringly.

"She woke up while I was there," Hermione said.

"Well that's good, isn't it?" Ron said, slightly puzzled.

Hermione drew in a shaky breath. She has brain damage," she whispered. Ron tensed and put his arm around Hermione's shoulders. "She didn't even recognize me. She didn't know where she was…"

"Bloody hell," said Ron. Hermione rested her head against his bare chest.

"I hope it'll be okay…maybe Madam Pomfrey knows how to heal amnesia…"

"I'm sure she'll find a way," Ron assured his girlfriend. "And Pepper always gets out of awful scrapes, why should this be any different?"

"Because she doesn't remember that she got herself out of awful scrapes," Hermione said.

Harry poked his head out from his bed curtains, his glasses half on his face. "Ron what the—Hermione?" he said groggily. "Hermione, what's wrong?"

"Pepper," she replied.

Harry shoved over his hangings and sat on the side of his bed, his glasses now fully on his face. "What's wrong with Pepper?" he asked anxiously.

"She's got brain damage…" Hermione said softly, "…amnesia. She didn't know who I was or even _where_ she was…"

Harry ran a hand quickly through his already unruly hair. "Shit," he murmured. He looked up at his friends. "This is just ridiculous," he sighed heavily. "It used to be that everything happened to me, but now I've passed on the torch…" He sighed again. "Are the Halliwells down in the hospital wing now?"

"I think so," said Hermione. "I don't know what we're going to do! And I can't find temporary Pepper anywhere, either!" It was obvious that she was frustrated.

"Well, I think that we should deal with it in the morning," Ron said, yawning.

"I want to go visit her," Harry said as he stood up.

"Harry, you're wearing a nightshirt and boxers, you're not going to get very far," said Hermione. She lifted her head from Ron's chest. "No, I think Ron's right, Harry, we should wait to deal with it in the morning, there's not much we can do now."

-

"That is IT! There is no way she can continue her schooling now! We've got to take her home!" Piper cried.

"Things at home will be able to trigger her memory as well," Phoebe added, sticking up for her big sister.

"Voldemort will be able to track her at the Manor!" argued Paige. "The Seer will be able to find her!"

Piper and Phoebe were in hysterics over Pepper's amnesia. Paige and Dumbledore were trying to keep them calm, though the hysteria was starting to rub off on Paige.

"Professor Dumbledore said that Hogwarts blocks us from the Seer's visions. If we take Pepper home then the Seer will be able to see how defenseless she is!"

"We'll protect her!" said Phoebe, pacing Dumbledore's office with Piper. "And I want to go home! I'm behind with my column! It could be easier for Pepper's amnesia to go away if she were around familiar things!"

"Miss Matthews is right," said Dumbledore, sounding a little sad. "It would be safer for you all to stay here."

-

"Thanks for coming down with me tonight," Alana said to her boyfriend, resting her head on his shoulder. "Just don't tell anyone I'm friends with that Gryffindor—"

"—Or you'll cut off my balls; yea, I know," Blaise said sourly, tightening his possessive hold on Alana's waist.

"I hope Pepper'll be all right," said Alana, throwing her arm across Blaise's chest. The both of them were in his bed because neither of them could sleep after the night's events, though Blaise wouldn't admit he was sorry for The Golden Boy's girlfriend.

"Why, Stoke, I think the wittle Gryffindor is making you soft," drawled Blaise.

"Whatever," said Alana, though she was slightly afraid of that her self. "But don't you even feel a little bit sorry for Pepper?"

"Why should I?"

"Because, you big git, she has amnesia! She can't remember anything!"

Blaise shrugged.

"Sodding prat," Alana muttered, and he drew her closer to himself.

"Why did you want me there with you anyway?" he asked.

"I didn't want to sit down there all alone," she replied.

"You know, Lana, sometimes I wonder why you're in Slytherin."

"Thanks so much, Blaise."

"Well befriending Gryffindors isn't exactly the way to be cunning or to insult anyone…"

"Pepper isn't a normal Gryffindor."

-

"The Peppers are gone," Professor Giancarlo reported. "They must've disappeared when the real Miss Halliwell woke up."

Dumbledore, who was sitting behind his grand desk, steepled his fingers together. "Pepper's aunts just left here; they went to take Miss Halliwell from Poppy's care."

"Are they going home?" asked the professor.

"They are discussing what to do now. Piper and Phoebe feel that they should return to the Manor. However, Paige is trying to convince them that they should stay here, if not for their own safety, for their niece's."

"I can't believe that she actually _lost_ her _memory_," said Professor Giancarlo, sitting in a high-backed chair.

"It is most unfortunate…"

"Should I include her in the private lessons?"

"At this point in time I don't think that is the best idea. Just continue the lessons with Mr. Potter. You might want to go over more demonic lessons with your students as well; it seems their knowledge might be necessary."

"You think that demos will come to Hogwarts?" she asked, alarmed.

"It is a very possible scenario," replied Dumbledore. "You might want to make your students aware of that possibility. I believe that everyone will end up taking part in this war."

-

They were trying to explain everything to her: the moving portraits, the shifting staircases, the mobs of students, the magic, her craft, her powers, her aunts, her teachers, her friends, her sudden memory loss, her past. She was trying to take it all in, but she wasn't doing very well. She still couldn't believe that she was magic, with special powers, who had been thrown into a wall just weeks ago and now forgot all of it.

She wanted to see her friends. She wanted to explore. She wanted to remember all of this wonderful life her aunts were describing to her in this great room with a ceiling so high she couldn't even see it. And she wanted to remember the name they had said she went by.

She, Aunt Phoebe, Aunt Piper, Aunt Paige and another person whose name she could not remember, were all sitting in this warmly decorated room. Three staircases led off to other rooms that she hadn't gotten a chance to explore yet.

Her aunts wouldn't let her see her friends today, though, because they wanted to get some sleep. Each of her aunts went up a different staircase and the other person, a man, stayed downstairs with her. She wanted him to leave so that she could investigate the castle that was apparently her school.

"Do you want to know anything, Pepper…? You seem uneasy, which is understandable I guess," he said.

"I want to see my house," she said.

"I suppose that would be alright," he said, shrugging and standing to come towards her. "Let's go. But only for a little while."


	44. Chapter 43:Alana, Blaise and Other Stuff

5

**A/N: I know, I know: short chapters and long wait. I'm sorry, I'm just busy and unmotivated… I'll try to write faster, I promise. Thank you reviewers, though I'd like to see some more reviews…hint hint.**

**-**

**Chapter Forty-Three **

**-**

In a way, it was lucky that Pepper had amnesia. At the end of February, Piper, Phoebe and Paige wore black for days to mourn the year anniversary of their sister's death and Pepper took no notice of it.

She began attending classes again to jog her memory, though that didn't work so Harry, Ron and Hermione had to tutor her in their free time so it would appear that she was the normal Pepper. Pepper was beginning to grow very frustrated with not remembering anything. She was staying in the girls' dormitory now, instead of with her aunts, and the other two girls (Lavender and Parvati, she learned) kept telling her things that she didn't quite understand.

"So you're done with Harry, then, are you?" Lavender said one day.

Pepper tried not to look confused. Usually she had Hermione around to step in in situations like this, but Hermione was taking a shower at the moment, so Pepper was on her own.

"Erm…" Pepper said, pulling her shirt over her head to change into her nightgown.

"Because I haven't seen you two snogging or anything lately, so I take it you aren't together anymore," Lavender continued, folding her school skirt and laying it on her trunk.

"So are you still together?" Parvati asked, rounding on Pepper.

"Erm…" Pepper said again. "No," she decided on saying, hoping it was true. Harry hadn't mentioned anything to her about them dating…so she guessed that they were just friends. Though, from what Lavender was saying, it sounded as if she and Harry had been dating at one point.

From that day on Pepper tried to steer clear of a situation where she would be alone with Lavender and Parvati.

Pepper also missed Ron's birthday. She was at the small party Hermione and Harry threw for him but she didn't remember that she had a gift for him in her trunk. By this time, everyone was getting fed-up with the amnesia. Piper, Paige and Phoebe were still living at Hogwarts and they still had to stay in their room most of the time. Leo, after taking Pepper to the Manor the day she woke up, didn't interfere much. His main job was to look after Cole, who was still living at the Manor.

"Pepper, Hogsmede is this weekend, would you like to go?" Hermione asked, putting her book down on the table. She made a note on her parchment before looking up at Pepper.

"Sure," Pepper replied, sucking on the end of her quill. "Hermione…I can't remember anything about this…" She shut her eyes tightly, clenching her teeth. Not being able to remember anything was making her very mad, and she knew people were beginning to notice her ignorance.

"Hey Granger," Alana said, coming over to Pepper and Hermione's table and plopping herself in one of the library chairs. Blaise took the seat between Pepper and Alana. They both had their bags with them to do their homework.

"Stoke," Hermione acknowledged, turning back to her book.

Pepper knew that Hermione only tolerated Alana and Blaise hanging around because Pepper had woken up to their faces and found she enjoyed their company.

"How're you doing Halliwell?" Blaise asked. Pepper could tell that he didn't enjoy her company as much as she enjoyed his and he only spent time with her because of Alana. He still refused to call her by her first name, though Alana nagged him about it frequently.

"I'm all right," Pepper said, tapping the side of her quill on the table. "Although, I'm having a little trouble with this homework. I can't remember a thing about this…"

"You're asking me to help you then, are you?" Blaise said, realizing that Hermione and Alana were already wrapped up in their homework. (The one condition Hermione had about hanging out with Blaise and Alana had been that they actually did their work when they were in the library.) Blaise glanced over at the Potions essay Pepper was working on. "As a matter of fact, I've got to do that essay as well," he said, pulling out a quill and a roll of parchment from his bag.

"So, are you going to Hogsmede this weekend?" Pepper asked as Blaise pointed something out to her in her book to help her. Even though he had learned that he was a Slytherin, and therefore not her friend, she still couldn't help thinking that his was the best looking face she had ever seen. Hermione had filled her in on the Gryffindor-Slytherin rivalry but Alana and Blaise were still two of her favorite people. She found she was spending more time with the two of them then with Harry and Ron, but Ron and Hermione seemed to be very chummy.

"Yea, Alana and I're going," he replied, brushing a piece of hair from his face.

"Okay, so what do I have to do here…" Pepper wondered, and the two of them got down to doing their essays.

"We're going to have to do something more extreme," Ron said to Harry, moving his pawn forward two spaces. "She still hasn't remembered a thing, even after everything we've done."

"Madam Pomfrey said she may never get her memory back…" said Harry, hoping desperately that that wouldn't be so.

"It's only been two and a half weeks, I'm sure she'll get better," Hermione insisted, closing her novel.

"Has she worked out her powers yet?" Ron wondered.

"I don't think so; her aunts decided to let her figure them out totally on her own. So far she accidentally froze me once, but that's all," Hermione said.

"Where is Pepper anyway?" Harry asked.

"With Stoke and Zabini," Ron supplied. It was obvious he didn't approve of Pepper's new Slytherin friends. "I just wish she'd get her memory back already so she'd remember that she hates Slytherins."

"Well we might have to be patient," Hermione said. "Though, I feel as if we've been patient enough…it's been over a month since we've had the real Pepper."

"At least she hasn't been hanging around Malfoy," said Harry. "We have to find a way to get her memory back."

"And we can try it on Saturday."

"This place looks familiar," Pepper said, walking down the High Street of Hogsmede with Ron, Hermione and Harry.

"It should," Hermione said. The four of them stopped in the road. "Okay…so I need to get some more parchment and a few more potions supplies…"

"Why don't you and Ron do that," Harry said. "I've got somewhere to take Pepper. We'll meet at the Three Broomsticks in thirty minutes." And with that, Harry grabbed Pepper's arm and pulled her down the street.

"Where are we going?" Pepper asked.

"You'll see. It's only a five minute walk…"

And, sure enough, a few minutes later they arrived at a fence which blocked them from a run-down house set on a hill at least a hundred yards away. "Where—" Pepper began, but never got to finish her question.

Harry had cut her off by pressing his mouth to hers in desperation. His plan was to remind her of the kiss they had shared here, at the Shrieking Shack, a few months ago. There seemed to be extra energy between them when they had come here before and he hoped it might help get her memory back.

Pepper was caught so off guard by the kiss that it took her a moment to react, and to push Harry away. "Harry!" she cried. "What are you doing?"

"Pepper, please, just trust me. I have an idea, and it may be crazy, but I just need you to kiss me."

Hesitantly, Pepper leaned forward. Once again, Harry put his lips to hers and this time she kissed back. His hands went to her waist after a few seconds and her arms wrapped themselves around his neck.

Suddenly, and all at once, a million pictures came flooding into Pepper's mind. She broke away from Harry with a cry of alarm. She couldn't see—the pictures were flashing in front of her eyelids. She stumbled backwards.

"Pepper?" said Harry worriedly.

The pictures kept coming. **_A large white marble building, towering over her head…Blood gushing down her arms…A boy with white-blonde hair, leaning his face to hers…Blue-white lights disappearing into the air…Three dark-haired women, scolding her…One of those women in a white dress, a smiling man waiting for her at an alter…Flying through the air, grass feet below her, holding on to someone in front of her…a brown-haired, red lipped women entering a room with suitcases…A cauldron full of a bubbling potion…A bushy haired girl scowling at her, a redhead standing protectively by her side…Sitting in the lap of a boy with glasses and black hair…A mermaid in a bathtub, hurling things at a dark looking man…Waking up to the blonde boy's face…_**

The pictures were going by too fast, and now sound filled her head. Pepper cried out again at the sudden burst of noise. **_"It's none of your FUCKING business what family of from! So what if you haven't heard of the Halliwells! Maybe that's my MOTHER'S MAIDEN NAME!"…"She…Prue's…dead..."… "But Harry, we're soul mates!"…"Watch what you say, Halliwell. Someone just might believe that I do want to fuck you."…"Hermione, you wouldn't believe this, Pepper thinks Malfoy's _good looking_."…" Freeze it! Or blow it up! Or at least do something! We don't have much time! Where's Aunt Phoebe with the Book?"..."She's degraded you!" "DEGRADED ME? You really think that little of me, Ronald!"…"You know what this means, Harry? We could bring my dad back to life for three days."… "Sounds dangerous." "No duh. The question is, do you still want to do it?"…" _Oh_, you're back. I guess that means we won't be having any more fun then, Harry?"…"But we don't need to show our faces, since you already know who I am, right Halliwell?"…"I cut myself, Hermione."… "PEPPER! WATCH OUT!"…"I have JEWELS!"…"Demons?" "Yes, demons."…_**

Then another picture, black and white this time, appeared before her eyelids. It was of her, standing there, looking dumbstruck. _"**Damn it Pepper! I want you and I can't wait for you to sort out your feelings anymore!"** _The picture flashed out of her head before she could see the speaker. Then the consecutive pictures started up again, as did the voices.

"**_Running away like that TWICE! We were so worried!"…"Move out of the bloody way or I swear I will hex you into tiny little pieces."…"He fucked you, didn't he?"…"Pepper, I had a wonderful time with Neville."…"Wendigo, Grimlock, Drazi, Abraxas, Troxa, Dane…Can you tell me what those are the names of?" "Demons."… "Ah…hello, erm, _Uncle_ Cole…"…"Don't do anything I wouldn't do!"…"So Voldemort and the Source are working TOGETHER?"_**

Everything stopped and Pepper was once again aware of her surroundings. She opened her eyes, gasping for breath, and found that she was sitting on the ground. Harry was leaning down in front of her, looking very concerned. She looked past his shoulder. _The Shrieking Shack…_

Without warning, she leaned forward and planted a kiss right on Harry's lips. Before he could respond, she pulled away. Then she embraced him, knocking him from his squatting position, and she started to laugh.

"Pepper…" Harry sounded as if he was really worried now.

"Thank you Harry!" she exclaimed, standing up, beaming. "Oh my god!" She lifted her hands to the sky and spun around. "Harry! I can REMEMBER! Everything! It all came back to me!"

Harry stood up as well, laughing now, and the two of them hurried off to the Three Broomsticks to share the great news with Ron and Hermione.

"Stoke! Zabini! Get your fat arses off each other and over here!" Pepper shouted, running out of the Three Broomsticks and down the street to Alana and Blaise. Blaise had Alana crushed up against the wall of a shop, snogging the life out of her.

"Stop the snogging and listen to me!" Pepper cried, running down the road and waving her arms. Everyone stared at her like she was mad, but she didn't really notice. Alana and Blaise finally turned to look at Pepper, and they looked rather disheveled.

Pepper reached them and stopped, panting and waiting people to go back to their own business before she embraced the two Slytherins.

"Halliwell!...what the…hell…" Blaise wriggled out of her grasp. The only two reasons he hung out with her were Alana and the fact that she had stayed but his bedside when he'd been in a coma, so public displays of affection were too much.

"I've got my memory back!" said Pepper, ignoring Blaise.

"What? How?" Alana said, clearly delighted.

"Harry," replied Pepper. "We've all got a table in the Three Broomsticks, would you like to join us? I can explain everything there."

Alana and Blaise looked at one another, each of them raising an eyebrow in skepticism. "That wouldn't look too great, Halliwell: two Slytherins with a hoard of Gryffindors, looking like friends," said Alana.

"But we are friends," Pepper said, a little downtrodden.

"With you, maybe, but I know Granger can't stand us and, frankly, I can't stand her. Or any of the other Gryffindors," Alana pointed out.

"Oh…well…I'll see you later then," Pepper said drearily, turning back around to head up the street.


	45. Chapter 44: I finally posted

7

**Chapter Forty-Four**

As soon as Pepper reentered the Three Broomsticks, she knew that there was a problem. Tables were overturned, students hiding behind them, and there were demons scattered all over the pub.

Pepper's eyes widened. A few of the brave students and the adults there had their wands out and were firing spells frantically at the demons. Pepper froze the scene at once. Harry was the only one that didn't freeze, since he had been trained by Professor Ardel to resist that power.

"Harry, what the hell happened?" Pepper asked, horrified.

"They all just appeared and started attacking," Harry explained, out of breath from fighting. "I think they're looking for you, Pep."

Pepper looked towards the ceiling. "UNCLE LEO!" she shouted. "UNCLE LEO! GET DOWN HERE NOW!"

Leo appeared a few seconds later in a swirl of blue-white lights. "Pepper," he said, looking surprised that she knew how to call him. "What is it?"

"Look around, Uncle Leo," Pepper said dryly. "There are demons everywhere. They appeared and started attacking and Harry thinks they're after me."

"Well of course they are," Leo said. He glanced around the pub. "They're all lower level demons," he said. "Piper should be able to blow them up easily. I'll go get her, Phoebe and Paige." He orbed away, leaving Pepper, Harry, and the frozen occupants of the Three Broomsticks to deal with the demons until Leo returned.

"Great," Pepper said, "leave Harry and me to deal with all the demons."

"I told you they wouldn't be able to get into Hogwarts," Voldemort sneered at the Source, clearly delighted with himself. "It's protected by too many shields to penetrate."

"Well they're close enough," the Source said. "Surely the Halliwell girl will be there, since it is a student weekend."

"Excuse me, my Lords," Lucius Malfoy entered the dark room. The flickering fire in the fireplace was the only light source, and it was dying. "My son is here. You wished to see him?"

"Bring him here."

Cautiously, Draco crept into the room. He knew what was coming. He bowed low in front of Voldemort and the Source, trying not to convey any fear. "You wanted to see me?" he said.

"Silence!" commanded Voldemort. "Boy, you were supposed to bring the Halliwell girl to us! It has been over a month! Surely you have seen her since then!"

"She is well protected, my Lord," Draco quivered. "Potter, Weasley and that filthy Mudblood always hang around her and the teachers have been watching her like hawks." He failed to mention the fact that she had been in a coma for weeks and then had been without a memory for added weeks. He figured he would get punished if he mentioned those two things: he hadn't taken her when she was most weak.

"Then sending demons to Hogsmeade was a good idea," muttered the Source.

Draco was in shock. He had no idea that they were going to do something so drastic…he was planning to take his time on kidnapping Pepper. After all, he had to come up with a plan so that she didn't have to die. Voldemort and the Source thought Pepper was now four months pregnant, though, and he supposed they wanted the next Voldemort to start being evil as early as possible.

"I'm sure the demons can do a better job at kidnapping the child than you can," the Source spat at Draco.

Right before Draco's very eyes, the Source conjured a fireball and threw it at the crumbling wall behind the Slytherin, whose eyes were wide in fear. "You're lucky," the Source growled. "If you weren't so useful, I wouldn't have missed."

It was at this point that Draco realized how much powerful the Source was than Voldemort.

"Have you visited her lately, Eowyn?" Sadie Montgomery asked, putting her feet on the table in front of her. She crossed her ankles lazily and licked her lips, waiting for the frightened Siren's answer.

Eowyn Cuomo was pacing the wooden floor of the storage room. The back of a Knockturn Alley shop was the only place the two could meet and here they were now, much to Eowyn's discomfort. "Things haven't worked out the way we planned," she said in her slightly accented voice. "Harry has been too focused on that damn Halliwell girl to even _notice_ me."

"You didn't answer my question," Sadie said, her eyebrow cocked as she stared coolly at the girl.

"I haven't seen her for months!" Eowyn exploded, spinning on the red heel of her shoe to face the Slytherin. Her usual sleek and sharp look was now dull and dim. She was obviously discouraged.

"Lucius isn't going to like that bit of information," said Sadie, shaking her head. "I myself just visited young Miss Spada the other day."

"You don't have to rub it in," Eowyn hissed. "I know Lucius isn't going to like it and that's why you're not going to tell him! It isn't as easy for me to slip past Dumbledore as it is for you! He has his eye on me every minute because of the attraction the boys have to me."

Sadie pulled her feet off the table, sitting at attention to talk to the Ravenclaw about something of importance. "We have got to find a way for Potter to take his attention from Halliwell to you. Without that diversion we have nothing. He will be impossible to defeat, what with Weasel and that Mudblood backing him up. If he moves on from Halliwell to you I'm sure it will be a blow to the poor Muggle-lover. We'll weaken the bonds between all four of them and then we'll be free to attack…"

"Have you had words with Bellatrix lately? Is everything ready on her end—"

"I'd advise you to keep your mouth shut about that, Cuomo, seeing as you're not supposed to know anything about it," Sadie warned.

"I was just wondering…" Eowyn mumbled.

"THEY'VE MADE THE ATTACK! ALL STUDENTS OUT OF HOGSMEADE AT ONCE!"

Hogsmeade was evacuated at once, after Piper froze the premises and blew up every last demon in sight. Dumbledore ushered every student and teacher into the Great Hall and shut the doors, reminding Harry much of the night in his third year when there was a scare that Sirius Black was in the castle.

Everyone sat at their house tables, clearly scared, as they waited for the headmaster's explanation. The student body also noticed that there were four new seats next to Professor Giancarlo at the high table, three of which were filled by women as good-looking as the professor, and the other chair was filled by a man.

Dumbledore tapped his fork on the side of his glass to get everyone's attention. Immediately, the Great Hall quieted and the attention was focused on Professor Dumbledore. "I suppose all of you are looking for an explanation," he said. He seemed to be very calm and not at all disturbed by the demon attack. "And rightly so, I should say."

"What _were_ those things?" someone shouted out.

"Those were demons," said Dumbledore. Surprised chatter broke out throughout the Hall. Dumbledore tapped on his glass again to regain the attention of the students. "Settle down, settle down," he urged. "I think all of you who helped to fight the demons off; however, it is unfortunate that you needed to apply the knowledge you attained from Professor Giancarlo and now I feel I owe you all an explanation.

"For the past month or so, we have been housing three talented witched to help protect the school. Voldemort seems to have teamed up with the demon leader and they are after something…or someone."

"After what?" another student asked.

Pepper's stomach tightened. This is it, she thought, Dumbledore's going to reveal to the whole school, even the Death Eaters' children, that Voldemort and the Source are after me. But would he really be stupid enough to do that…?

"We're not really sure of what they are after," Dumbledore replied, but he caught Pepper's eye and winked. Pepper let out the breath she was holding.

"And who are _they_?" asked another voice, referring to the Charmed Ones. "I saw them coming into the pub in a swirl of blue lights!"

Dumbledore motioned for Pepper's aunts and uncle to stand up, and they did. "These three women are the Charmed Ones, Miss Phoebe Halliwell, Mrs. Piper Halliwell and Miss Paige Matthews."

"Halliwell?" said the surprised voice of Dean Thomas from the Gryffindor table.

Dumbledore smiled. "Yes, Mr. Thomas, these women are our own Pepper Halliwell's aunts and her uncle, Mr. Leo Wyatt."

Pepper's face burned as a thousand students turned to look at her. Under the table, Harry grabbed her hand for comfort. She didn't protest.

The next hour and a half was spent asking and answering questions about demons, Death Eaters, the Charmed Ones, Voldemort and the Source and eating dinner. When Dumbledore managed to assure the students that demons couldn't get inside the castle, he sent them all back to their dormitories. Piper, Paige, Phoebe, Pepper, Leo, Harry, Ron and Hermione all headed to the room of the Charmed Ones to discuss this growing problem.

"Do you think demons will come back?" Pepper asked as the eight of them sat down in various places in the common room.

"Probably not," Leo replied. "I doubt they can get into Hogwarts. Pepper…I'd like to know how you got your memory back."

Pepper blushed, she didn't really care to tell her uncle about the heated kiss she had shared with Harry. Granted, it was only to get her memory back, but they both had gotten into it quite a bit. She had been hoping that this topic wouldn't come up. She cleared her throat. "Erm, Harry can tell you," she said, smiling sweetly in Harry's direction. He had gone unusually white.

All eyes turned expectantly in Harry's direction. When he hadn't said anything for a few seconds Hermione said, "Harry jogged Pepper's memory."

"With a kiss," Ron added. Harry's white face turned pink.

"He was trying to remind her of past…er…a past situation," continued Hermione.

"I see," said Piper, smirking at her niece.

"Well, I'm glad it worked," Paige said, trying to contain a smirk of her own.

"Why do you think the demons came to Hogsmeade?" Pepper asked, hoping to get the subject away from herself and Harry.

"Because they couldn't get into Hogwarts, I'd bet," Piper said. "It's a very good thing that this place is so protected."

"Why did a kiss work?" Leo asked. It seemed he was a little suspicious of Harry's intentions.

"So since I have my memory back you guys will be leaving, right?" Pepper said hurriedly, not wanted at all to dwell on the kiss subject. "I mean, you've got to fight demons at home and everything."

Her aunts and uncle exchanged nervous glances.

"What aren't you telling me?" Pepper asked, looking at each of them in turn.

Leo and Phoebe looked warily from Pepper to Hermione, Ron and Harry. Hermione took the hint. "Well, we'll be going now," she said. "I'm sure there's a lot you all have to talk about. Good night." Harry, Ron and Hermione left the tower to return to the Gryffindor common room, leaving Pepper to pry the information out of her family.

"Alright, now spit it out!" Pepper said.

"Cole's disappeared," Leo said, sounding strained. "And there hasn't been a demon attack in three weeks. The Elders think that the team of Voldemort and the Source has managed to take control of the factions."

"And of all –powerful, indestructible Cole," Phoebe added, clearly very distressed.

"Wow," Pepper said. "This is bad. This is very bad."

"But we're on it," said Paige, "so don't worry." Pepper raised a questioning eyebrow at her aunt. "Okay, so Dumbledore and the Elders are on it too," Paige finished reluctantly. "So for now don't worry about it. Evil can't get in to Hogwarts anyway."

"Evil already is here," Pepper said. "The sons and daughters of Death Eaters tell their parents everything, I'm sure. We'll figure it out though, like you always say. I hope, at least. Even so, you're staying here a while longer, right?"

"I'm still staying at the Manor," Leo said.

"The three of us will be here for a while longer," Piper said.

"Well, I've got to get back," said Leo. "I'll keep you posted." He kissed his wife, Pepper, and Piper's pregnant stomach before Orbing away.

"And I'm going to get to bed," Paige announced, standing up from her chair. "Good night all. I'm glad you're back, Pep. I'll see you all tomorrow." Paige left the room and made her way up the staircase that led to her temporary bedroom.

Pepper got up and sat on the couch with her Aunt Piper and Aunt Phoebe. "I've missed so much," she sighed. "Especially with you, Aunt Piper! I missed the most important part of your pregnancy." She rested her hand on her aunt's obviously pregnant stomach. "I can't believe you're going to have a baby."

Piper brushed her niece's hand off. "Well the mommy is tired of her stomach getting all of the attention," she said.

Phoebe, who had been leaning over Pepper and making high-pitched noises directed towards the baby, stopped and sat up. "I'm going to have another niece!" she beamed. She was quick to forget the trying events of the day.

"And I'm going to have a cousin!" Pepper cried happily. "See, I missed all the excitement for a whole month so now I have to be doubly excited."

"No you don't," Piper said dryly.

Pepper laughed. "Aunt Phoebe, were you as excited for me to be born as you are for Aunt Piper's baby to be born? You can be honest, I just want to know."

"I was only fourteen at the time, so I don't think I was," Phoebe replied.

"We both thought Prue was making a big mistake," Piper said. "Sirius was five years older than she was and she was still in school. We knew she had had huge dreams and we thought she was throwing them all away."

"She wanted to be a lawyer," Phoebe remembered with a smile.

"A lawyer!" Are you serious?" Pepper said, very surprised.

"Yep, that was her dream: to become a big, successful lawyer and move to New York City," Piper recalled.

"But then Sirius got her pregnant."

"Did she ever consider getting an…an abortion?" Pepper asked, slightly afraid of knowing the answer.

"No way. We thought she would be shaken by the news and look for a way to get out of it, but she never did. When the doctor told her she was pregnant, she was ecstatic. It was like she had been trying to get pregnant…"

"And perhaps she was, you never really knew with Prue."

"Grams was so supportive, I couldn't believe it. Pheebs and I…well…I don't think we were as accommodating as Prue needed us to be."

"It was perfect timing, I have to give her that," Phoebe said. "She was in her last year at Hogwarts and she covered up her pregnancy with a Concealment Charm. She was so happy that year…And Sirius couldn't stay away from her, either. He took a job with Madam Pomfrey just so he could be close to her."

"Did he want Mom to keep me?" Pepper asked, intrigued at the story her aunts were telling.

"Of course he did, are you kidding?" said Phoebe. "He spent the entire summer after you were born at the Manor. Though there was a spell where he was off fighting Voldemort while she was pregnant."

"I remember Prue used to dance around the house with you, Pep," Piper chuckled.

"She did?" Phoebe said.

"Yea, don't you remember?" Piper asked. Phoebe shook her head. "Oh…those were "the John" days."

"What were "the John" days?" Pepper asked, her eyebrow raised.

"Ah, I remember now," Phoebe said. "I met this guy, John, and he swept me off my feet. I wasn't around much that summer…I think that was the summer I lost my virginity, actually."

"Ack!" Pepper declared. "That isn't needed! Back to my parents."

"Grams loved having Sirius around," Piper continued. "He really was the sweetest guy, and he helped out with everything. He moved out of the flat he shared with James and Grams and Prue let him share Prue's room. He and Prue would visit Lily and James constantly, though, since both Prue and Lily were having a baby."

"So does that mean Harry and I were friends when we were babies?" Pepper wondered, the thought just occurring to her.

"Yes, you were," Piper laughed.

"You two even used to take baths together," Phoebe added.

"Ew!" Pepper exclaimed, jumping up from the couch. "Is that why the two of you were amused by our, er, relationship?"

"Yea," Phoebe chuckled. "But it makes sense, doesn't it, that you were best friends; since Sirius was his godfather and James was yours? Not to mention the fact that they were all the best of friends."

"Wait, I had a godfather?" Pepper said.

"Yes, you did," said Piper. "I suppose your parents didn't tell you because James died before you really knew him…"

"This is all just too crazy," said Pepper. "I mean, I'm related to Malfoy, Harry and I used to take baths together, and I had a godfather? I think I'm going to bed. This is too much information to process. We can continue this story later. Besides, it's almost curfew and I don't want to get a detention. Night." She kissed her aunts before making her way to the portrait hole to leave.

"Oh Pepper?" Phoebe said as the portrait swung open to let her niece exit.

Pepper turned around. "What is it?" she asked.

"How _was_ that kiss, anyway?" Phoebe said, unable to control her laughter.

Pepper grimaced and went back to Gryffindor Tower.


	46. Chapter 45: FINALLY ANOTHER CHAPPY

11

**A/N: I am SO SO SO SORRY! I know it's taken so long for me to update but my life suddenly got unbearably busy and I just couldn't find the time to write. Though I did to a one shot thing that you can read **:-) **Thank you faithful readers, I hope I didn't throw you off with my inconsistency! I'll really try to post soon, but I really can't make any promises!**

**- Flyaway Dove**

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**Chapter Forty-Five**

**--------------------------------------------------------------------**

Pepper entered the common room to find it empty. The fire was beginning to die and she went to sit on the couch to mull over the day's events. When she sat down she heard a muffled sob and almost jumped when she looked over and saw Hermione curled up in an armchair. She couldn't see her before because the back of the chair had been facing the portrait hole, and Pepper discovered now that she was indeed not alone.

"Hermione, what's wrong?" Pepper asked cautiously, getting up from the couch and sitting on the arm of the chair.

Hermione didn't look up at her; she just kept her face buried in her knees.

"Hermione, what's wrong?" Pepper repeated, stroking Hermione's hair.

"Everything," Hermione choked out. She cried some more before her sobs subsided and she was able to talk. "I'm glad you're back, Pepper," she said shakily. "You've missed so much."

"Like this?" Pepper wondered. "Do you cry at night all alone a lot?" Hermione nodded. "Oh _Hermione_! I'm so sorry I haven't been here for you! After all that's happened to you, you had no shoulder to cry on! Why didn't you go to Ron?"

Hermione shrugged. "He wouldn't understand."

"Harry?"

"He has too much on his plate already."

"And I don't?" Pepper joked.

"Oh—"

"Hermione, it's fine! I want you to come to me with your problems. I'm just sorry I haven't been here for you." She rested her chin on the top of Hermione's head. "I want you to talk to me, Hermione, whenever you need to. And I think Harry and Ron, but especially Ron, would want to be here for you as well. So don't feel like you ever have to go through anything alone.

"So, anything new happen with you and Ron while I was a living zombie?" Pepper lifted her head up to look at Hermione's face when Hermione didn't say anything. She was blushing. "Hermione…?"

"Nothing really happened," Hermione said, though her voice was tiny.

"Hermione…"

"We kissed," said Hermione.

"I've seen you bloody kiss! I want to know if anything _else _happened."

"No, that's all," said Hermione. "I swear it is. If anything else happens, you'd be the first to know, well, besides Ron anyway."

Their first class on Monday was Potions.

"Professor Dumbledore has decided that I should…treat you," Snape said reluctantly to the surprised students before him. "Therefore, today you may pick your own partner, as long as your partner is from a different House."

Everyone got up to scramble their seats around. The first one to sit next to Harry was Eowyn Cuomo, which made Harry a little uncomfortable…

Hermione sat down with Padma Patil, Ron sat with a Ravenclaw boy…and Pepper was left standing and looking around the room, feeling stupid. "Halliwell, take a seat!" Snape barked.

To Blaise's displeasure, the only empty seat was next to him, and that's where Pepper sat. She could tell he wasn't very happy about this. Pepper tried to start a conversation but he cut her off.

"Why do you hang around me and Alana?"

Pepper furrowed her eyebrows. "Because I like to," she replied, chopping the lizard's tail and dropping a few pieces into their cauldron.

"But we're Slytherins," he said, leaning past her (just close enough that Pepper could catch the cinnamony scent of his hair) and grabbing a knife so he could assist with chopping up ingredients. "Aren't you worried about ruining your precious Gryffindor reputation?"

"No, I'm not," said Pepper indignantly. "Do you really dislike me that much?"

"You're turning Alana into a Gryffindor. She's gone soft without realizing it and I think you're a bloody bad influence."

"Funny, most people would say her going soft is a good thing…"

"The point is, Halliwell," Blaise continued, ignoring her as he sawed at a mouse bone, "is that I'm upset you two are friends and you're friends are upset, so why are you and Alana even friends?"

"Because I like her! She's fun to hang out with and so are you. I'd like to be your friend as well as Alana's, Blaise, but it's obvious that you're not going to let me do that. Why are Slytherin's so prejudiced?"

"We're supposed to be prejudiced, Halliwell. That's one of the qualifications that make us Slytherins."

"Then maybe Alana shouldn't be a Slytherin."

"Actually, I was thinking more along the lines of maybe you shouldn't be a Gryffindor." He grabbed the diced worm segments and threw them in the cauldron while Pepper stood there, thinking about what he'd just said.

"Oh, Harry, you're _so_ good at making potions," Eowyn purred to her partner.

Harry was having a rather difficult time ignoring her Siren charms as he worked on the potion. She was good at getting attention, and he had to be good at ignoring it. It was a skill he really needed to work on. He had to keep repeating in his head what Hermione had told him about Sirens and again he wondered why Dumbledore had let Eowyn in the school. Though, he realized, he really didn't mind her company too much and perhaps it might be alright for him to let jus guard down enough to talk to her. He didn't want to seem rude, after all.

"What would you like me to do Harry?" Eowyn asked.

"Could you pass me the mortar and pestle?" said Harry. When she handed it to him, their fingers brushed, and he felt an electric charge run through him, much like he felt when he touched Pepper, but the feeling was much stronger with Eowyn. Harry gulped and jerked his hand away from hers, almost dropping the mortar.

Eowyn smiled up at him. She knew she would get him under her spell. She had told them all that all she needed was some time.

"Was working with Eowyn alright? You didn't pay any attention to her, did you, Harry?" Hermione asked at lunch.

Harry looked down at his potatoes. They were very creamy today, he noted. "Of course I didn't," he said. His cheeks were burning from the memory of touching Eowyn's hand. After that incident, he had indeed paid attention to her. In fact, they had talked for the rest of the class.

"Harry," said Hermione warningly, "don't lie. Usually I think you're pretty good at it, but this time I can tell you're lying. Why did you talk to her?"

Harry's head snapped up. "You don't understand her, Hermione! She's a great, wonderful, beautiful person!" he said defensively. His cheeks were now red with anger instead of embarrassment.

"See! She's already got you under her spell!" Hermione declared. "That's why I said to stay away from her!"

"Now you really have to avoid and ignore her," said Ron. "You should have listened to Herms in the first place."

Hermione, Pepper and Harry (his anger momentarily forgotten) looked at Ron skeptically. "Herms?" Hermione asked, sounding slightly disgusted.

Ron shrugged. "I thought I'd try it out," he said.

"Well, don't," Hermione grimaced. "It reminds me too much of Grawp."

"Speaking of Hagrid," said Harry, no longer angry at Hermione over Eowyn, "have either of you talked to him about his moving?"

Hermione and Ron shook their heads and Pepper sat there, pushing her food around her plate, but not actually eating any of it. She still couldn't forget their Valentine's Day brunch and what Hermione had said about being perfectly secure with who she was. ("No offense Pepper.")

Harry noticed this lack of eating. "Pepper, why aren't you eating anything?"

Pepper looked up from her plate and Hermione and Ron looked across the table at her. "I ate," Pepper lied. "I'm just not very hungry."

Harry looked skeptical, but the three of them went back to their conversation. Great, Pepper thought, my weight is something else to add to my extensive list of things to deal with.

They had some time to themselves after lunch, so Pepper and Hermione headed to the library to look up information on the Indirect Imperious Curse. Pepper decided she was going to invest her energy into this thing so she could be sure to cure Malfoy before his father's curse fully took over his body again. She wanted to make sure he was on the side of Good and he wouldn't betray them all.

"Pepper, I don't think we're going to find anything about this curse anywhere. We've already been through the library twice before," said Hermione as they tried to figure out where to start their search. "The only place we haven't been is in the Restricted Section."

"And the only way we're getting in there is with the Invisibility Cloak, right?" said Pepper.

"Or with a note from Snape," Hermione said. Pepper looked thoroughly surprised. "I mean, he and Malfoy are pretty close, don't you think?"

"Yeah…so…?" Pepper clearly wasn't catching on.

"So it would be a lot easier if we just told Snape what is going on and we can get a note from him. That way we can roam the Restricted Section freely without having to worry about getting caught."

"Brilliant plan, Hermione!" said Pepper, spinning on her heel to leave the library. "We'll ask him on Wednesday."

Tuesday found Dumbledore paced the teacher's lounge. He hadn't gotten any sleep the night before and he looked heavy and bedraggled. The Hogwarts faculty was all gathered into the spacious room, trying to come up with ideas to protect the castle and students. They had already decided that no students were to leave the castle, and Care of Magical Creatures classes were to be held in a contained classroom. Even though the grounds were protected from Apparate and the like, the Forbidden Forest extended beyond Hogwarts grounds and Apparation could occur there. Plus, demons did things besides Apparating.

"We'll need to get the Charmed Ones to help us protect the grounds from ways of demon travel," said Professor Giancarlo. "Even though the students know a little about demons and ways to fend them off, they don't know how to destroy them and I really don't think we can risk a demon attack on the school. Besides, I'll get fired from my Auror position because the students' protection is the reason I came here. And I'm sure none of you want to see any student put in danger, either."

"You would be quite right about that," said Professor McGonagall. "Why aren't the Charmed Ones meeting with us today?"

"I believe they have some things to attend to at home, though I can inform them of our meeting later. Right now I'm more concerned about Mr. Malfoy. Severus, can I ask you to watch him a little closer?"

"Certainly, Headmaster, though he and Miss Halliwell have seemed to be getting along lately"—a look of slight distaste crossed Snape's face before he continued—"and I think he's getting her help with all of this."

"Well that's good news," said Professor Sinstra. "But maybe we had all keep a close eye on those students we know are targeted."

"Particularly Miss Halliwell and Mr. Malfoy," Flitwick squeaked. "It seems to me that they are in the most danger."

There was silence before McGonagall said, "I bet we all wish the Ministry of Magic controlled the Dementors now."

No one replied until Dumbledore spoke up. "Quidditch will have to be cancelled for the time being. The students will be escorted to Herbology and under no circumstances can the students leave the grounds. I will have a talk with the Charmed Ones about precautions they believe we should take. Thank you all for meeting with me. Good day."

As the teachers filed out of the room, Snape caught Dumbledore's arm. "Draco and I have another Death Eater meeting next Saturday, you know."

"Yes," said Dumbledore grimly, knowing what was supposed to happen at the next meeting. "Yes, I am aware of that."

That night, Pepper went to visit her aunt's tower again.

"Question," said Pepper to her aunts, folding her legs under her. She was sitting on the floor, looking at the Charmed Ones who were all three seated on the couch across from her.

"What's your question?" Piper asked.

"If Harry's dad was my godfather does that mean that his mom was my godmother?"

"Yes, it does," Phoebe answered. Her legs were stretched out over Paige and Piper's laps and her head was lying on the couch's armrest. "And your mom was Harry's godmother as well. I'm not sure if Harry knows that or not."

"I don't think he does…" said Pepper. She wanted to find out all she could about her parents. There was a lot about them that she didn't know.

"Wait, how much older was Sirius than Prue?" Paige wondered.

"Five years," said Pepper. "She was in her second year when he was in his seventh. And then she got pregnant in _her_ seventh year, when she was seventeen and he was twenty-two…that sounds sort of gross."

Piper laughed. "It does, but it was a sort of love at first sight thing with the two of them, so I don't think they ever thought about age."

"What did Sirius's parents think about Prue's pregnancy?" asked Paige. It was clear that she wanted to know as much about Prue and Sirius as Pepper did.

"I don't think they ever knew," said Phoebe. She lifted her head from the couch to look at Piper for confirmation. When Piper nodded she laid her head back down. "No, his family wasn't very supportive of anything he did. He moved in with James for a while, I believe. And then he moved in with us for a summer!"

"Okay, you guys said that Harry and I used to be best friends, right?" Pepper asked.

"Yes we did…" Phoebe replied.

"Well if we did everything together then how come I thought I just met him for the first time at the beginning of the school year? Why did I loose all contact with him?"

"I'm not exactly sure how Prue's mind worked," said Piper, "but I know she was devastated after Lily and James died and then Sirius got blamed for it and was put in Azkaban…I think she wanted to cut off that part of her life. But you heard about Harry after Sirius was released, right?"

"Yeah, but I think I would have liked to know him as someone I took bathes with before I knew him as my boyfriend," Pepper said dryly.

Pepper stayed later then she had expected she would and as she hurried back to Gryffindor Tower she turned a sharp corner and literally ran into someone.

She god up from the sprawled position she was in from her fall to come face-to-face with none other than Draco Malfoy.

"Ah, Halliwell, just the person I needed to see," he said, grabbing her forearm roughly and her down the corridor into an empty classroom. Pushing her towards a desk, he closed and locked the door before turning to face her.

"You know Malfoy, we have got to stop meeting like this. What do you want _this_ time?" Pepper asked, trying to copy his signature drawl while rubbing her injured arm. She sat herself on the desk he had pushed her against.

"Your cooperation," he said lazily, coming closer to her.

She raised both of her eyebrows and got ready to spring at him if he tried anything. "Cooperation? With what, exactly?" she asked.

"You have two choices," he continued, ignoring her. "You can either clone yourself or get killed."

"What?" she cried.

"Whether you realize it or not, Halliwell, all evil is after you. I got the messy job of kidnapping you and if I don't there will be hell to pay. My ass is on the line here, and the only way this will work is if you clone yourself. That way I can kidnap your clone and take her to the Dark Lord. Neither of us will die that way. Not immediately, anyway," Malfoy explained. He didn't sound at all affected by this.

Pepper took a moment to process this. "And what happens when they find out the clone isn't me…or that it's not pregnant?"

"By then we can tell Dumbledore what's going on. Both of us should be safe in Hogwarts for a little while. It will take some time for the news to travel to the Death Eaters in training. Besides, as long as we're on our guard we should be fine until the Death Eaters find a way to get into Hogwarts."

"You're actually willing to talk to Dumbledore now?" Pepper asked. She was surprised at this; from her previous talks with Malfoy she had concluded that he hated Dumbledore and thought he was incapable.

"When worst comes to worst…" Malfoy said in a sing-song voice. "I didn't realize things were as dangerous as they are." He turned around to face the wall and there was a pause before he continued. "The day of the attack on Hogsmeade I saw the power of the Source…"

"Scary, isn't it?" Pepper said knowingly.

He turned around again to look at her. "He's so much more powerful than the Dark Lord. If there was a way we could somehow get them to betray each other—"

"And fight against each other," Pepper added.

"Then we'd just have to step in and—"

"Bam, one of them is destroyed."

"Then all we would have to do is defeat the other one."

"And they'd be weakened from the evil-on-evil fight so—"

"It would be so easy to win this war."

"The question is," said Pepper, "how the hell are we going to do that?"

"No idea," shrugged Malfoy.

"You know, that was really creepy," Pepper nodded. "We just finished each other's sentences."

"I noticed," said Malfoy. "So are you going to cooperate or what?"

"What if it doesn't work? What if the clone disappears or they have someway of following it here or something! What if we all _die_?"

"Stop being such a drama queen, Halliwell. If you follow everything I say then nothing should go wrong," said Malfoy.

Pepper jumped down from the desk she was sitting on. "Who died and made you king?" she said. She was tired of his cockiness.

"Look, Halliwell, I'm trying to save your ass here, the least you could do is do what I say. A 'thank you' would be nice as well."

"What if I say I won't do it? Hmm? What will you do _then_?" snarled Pepper.

"I'll just kidnap you right now and then you'll die for sure," said Malfoy in the same tone of voice. "I don't have time for this, Mudblood. Either you're going to be nice or I'm going to get you killed."

"You're such an ass," Pepper mumbled, running a hand through her hair. Malfoy seemed to ignore her. "Fine, fine, I'll do it!"

"There's a good little Gryffindor. The next Death Eater meeting, my deadline for delivery, is next Saturday. I'm going to need your clone then."

Pepper tried to ignore the fact that he just said she was a "delivery." Really, her clone was the delivery, but she still didn't like his usage of the word. "Fine," she grumbled.

"You really owe me now, Halliwell," said Malfoy as Pepper made her way to the door to leave. He walked closer and closer to her, pushing her back up against another desk.

"I'm working on it," Pepper sighed, trying not to show her uneasiness that grew with each step he took closer to her. "I just…er…_forgot_ some things for a while," she continued. "But I'm working on it."

"It would be helpful if I could think for myself during the Final Battle," he said, his voice low because he was so close to her now. He was only a few feet away and Pepper could almost feel his breath on her face. "There's something else I want to say to you too…"

"What would that be, Malfoy?" Pepper asked.

"Why the hell are you hanging around Blaise and Alana?" He seemed to be very mad about this.

"Because I like them," Pepper smirked.

"I don't like the fact that you're hanging around my best mates," he said, taking yet another step closer. Pepper was almost on top of the desk now.

"Well if it makes you feel any better, Blaise hates me," said Pepper. "Alana and I really get along though. She's thinking of asking Professor Dumbledore to change her house to Gryffindor just so she can be my best friend." Of course now Pepper was just saying things to make Malfoy mad, and it seemed like her plan was working as his face was scrunching up in anger.

"Look, Halliwell, I don't want you hanging around them anymore. Alana's changing and I don't like it," Malfoy snarled.

"Funny, that's exactly what Blaise said to me today," said Pepper, slightly amused but slightly intimidated by Malfoy at the moment.

"Then why won't you listen to us!" Malfoy practically yelled, making Pepper jump.

"Malfoy, I'll run my life how I like and you run yours the way you like. Now is there anything else you wanted to ask me before I go to bed?" Pepper said calmly.

Seeming to physically calm down, he asked one more question: "What did you tell Ginny?" He turned his head when he said this, as if he was embarrassed.

"I told her that you love her," Pepper gave a feeble half smile, shifting her weight from one foot to the other.

"I don't love her," he said, now looking at the floor.

"What?"

"I'm not in love with her."

"But…I thought…" Pepper was flabbergasted and her face showed it.

"It's complicated and I don't really want to talk about it. I don't owe you an explanation."

"No, but you owe Ginny one."

Malfoy turned around completely, leaving Pepper to stand up straight without leaning on the stone desk. He rubbed the back of his neck. "My father's orders got mixed up. I was supposed to tell that to Pansy. I'm supposed to marry her."

And Pepper, mouth slightly agape, watched as Malfoy left the room in embarrassment.

Remembering that she could Mirror, she used her power to get back to Gryffindor Tower because it was way after curfew by now. She had assumed that it would be too late for anyone to be awake but she was obviously mistaken, for the sight that met her eyes was Hermione and Ron on one of the couches in front of the dying fire, snogging like there was no tomorrow.

Pepper tried to sneak past unnoticed, averting her eyes as she did so, but Hermione saw her. "Pepper!" she cried, hurriedly breaking away from Ron and scurrying away from his lap. Ron shot Pepper a glare and Pepper smiled meekly at him. Ron hadn't been too fond of her the past few weeks, and this was icing on the cake.

"Where have you been Pep," asked Hermione as she tried to fix her hair. "I thought you were in bed."

"I'll bet she was with her Slytherin mates," Ron mumbled.

"Yes to Slytherin, no to mates," said Pepper.

"Malfoy?" Hermione said.

Pepper nodded her head.

"You've got to stop meeting him in the dark like that."

"I know, that's what I told him," smiled Pepper. "Plus, it wasn't my fault. I was walking back from my aunts' room and he pulled my into a classroom to tell me that I need to clone myself by Saturday so he can kidnap the clone and give it to evil so they can abort it's non-existent baby and then kill it. And once they find out that the clone isn't me they'll come and kill me and Malfoy though he said we'll supposedly be safe for a time in Hogwarts. Then he yelled at me for hanging around his best friends. He also said that he…." Pepper glanced at Ron, deciding not tell him about Malfoy's confession of not loving Ginny. "Well, what is important is that I'm going to die, whether it's now or in a few months."

"Pepper…" said Hermione in a you're-totally-overreacting voice.

"Pepper, we're not going to let you die. There's no way you're going to die at sixteen," Ron assured her.

Pepper was slightly surprised, since Ron had been rather miffed at her lately. "Thanks Ron, it's nice to know that I have friends to back me up."

"And I'm sure the teachers will be on high alert now that there's been an attack at Hogsmeade," said Hermione. "They all know you're the main attack target, so they'll all protect you. There's no way that Voldemort—Ron _why_ do you still shudder at that?—or the Source can get to you."

"What about all the Death Eaters in training at Hogwarts that can attack me?" asked Pepper, worrying herself now.

"Pepper, I'm sure they're taking all the precautions to keep you, Harry, and the rest of the school safe. Your aunts are here as well and they definitely won't let anything happen to you," Hermione reminded her.

"Thanks, Hermione, I'm reassured now. Sorry I interrupted your snogging session. I'll be going to bed now. Goodnight," said Pepper and after Ron and Hermione said their goodnights she headed up to bed.

Ivi Spada shifted on her cot as the man outside the bars stared at her. "Is it almost over?" she signed timidly. Her voice was thin from being in the prison for so long, and she was tired of the lack of personal hygiene here.

"Yes," Avery said, dropping his stare. "Only a few Dementors remain here, and once they are under the Dark Lord's control as well, it will be safe."

"Good, because I'm so bloody tired of this place! How is Eowyn working out? She hasn't been by to visit me in weeks."

"From what I hear, she's having trouble getting close to Potter."

"Damn. This is a problem. I knew she wasn't good enough."

"No matter. Out army is bigger and stronger than theirs, anyhow. It will al work out in the end," Avery assured Ivi.

"I hope it does."

"We will get you _all_ out. There is no way we can loose this war."

When Pepper made her way down to breakfast the next morning, she discovered that Ron and Hermione weren't there yet; she made her way over to Harry and Ginny, who were engaged in a conversation.

"Hi," she greeted, grabbing a piece of toast as she sat down.

"Hey," said Harry. "Where are Hermione and Ron?"

"I expect they slept in a bit…they had a rather late night last night," said Pepper. "I caught them snogging in the common room at two in the morning."

"Ah," Harry said knowingly.

"Ginny, I've got something to tell you," Pepper said, talking behind her bitten toast so that Harry wouldn't see. "Malfoy isn't in love with you after all. His Imperius Curse orders got mixed up. Sorry."

Ginny looked indifferent and Harry looked at the two of them suspiciously. "And I have something to tell _you_ Harry," Pepper added, trying to draw the attention away from the toast-whispering. "My aunts shared a bit of information with me the other night."

"What information would that be?" asked Harry.

"We used to be best friends when we were babies," Pepper shared.

Harry and Ginny both looked shocked.

"And there's more but I don't know if I'm going to share," said Pepper, referring to the bath taking that she and Harry apparently used to do together.

"Students!" said Dumbledore, rising from his seat to get their attention. The Great Hall fell quiet and Dumbledore continued. "It is with great displeasure that I make this announcement. Since the demon attack on Hogsmeade last weekend, the Charmed Ones, the rest of the staff and I have been discussing ways to make you all safer. Therefore, Care of Magical Creatures will take place in classroom fifty on the second floor, no students will be allowed on the grounds and Quidditch is hereby cancelled until further notice."

This last statement caused many groans from the students, and Harry threw his fork down in protest.

"I know this is a disappointment," Dumbledore went on, "but it must be done. These rules will be strictly enforced. Please pass this message onto your fellow students who are sleeping in this morning. Enjoy the rest of your morning."

He sat down and the students started their protest again.

"No Quidditch!" Ron exclaimed. "How can he cancel Quidditch?"

"He's done it before and he did it again," said Harry sadly. The four were on their way to Potions, where Pepper and Hermione were going to ask Snape for a note to get into the Restricted Section.

"Silence!" Snape ordered as he strode into the classroom just as the bell rang. And class began.

After the lesson was over and the students were leaving the room, Pepper and Hermione approached Snape's desk. "Excuse me, sir," Hermione said politely, getting his attention.

"What is it, Granger?" he asked, his head snapping up.

"It's about Malfoy," said Pepper. "He asked our help with this Indirect Imperius Curse his father put him under and we've been looking in the library for a solution but we can't find one. So we were wondering if you could give us a note to get into the Restricted Section so we could see if we can find anything there."

Wordlessly, Snape pulled out a piece of blank parchment and wrote on it. He handed it to Pepper when he was done and the two girls left his classroom, somewhat surprised at his willingness to give them permission.

"So does this mean we're going to go today?" Pepper asked, sticking Snape's note into the pocket of her robes.

"I guess so," said Hermione. "Does after dinner sound alright?"

"Sure," said Pepper.


	47. Chapter 46: I POSTED!

5

**A/N: Ah! I AM SO SORRY! I know I haven't updated in over 2 months! But today's the story's year anniversary! Isn't that amazing? Anyways, I hope you all still remember me and you review. I'll try to get up another ASAP since it's summer. **

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**Chapter Forty-Six**

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"Malfoy you bloody git, where are you?" Pepper huffed, pacing the dark classroom where she was scheduled to meet Malfoy. He was already six minutes late and her heart was fluttering against her chest in nervousness.

"Calm _down_ Pepper," said Harry from under the safety of the Invisibility Cloak, where he was huddled with Hermione. Pepper hadn't wanted to go through this alone.

"That's easy for you to say, Harry; you're not the one about to _die_," said Pepper.

"Oh stop being so dramatic, Pepper, you know you're not going to die," Hermione said.

"Quiet, he's coming," Harry hissed. Sure enough, a few seconds later, the heavy classroom door opened and in strode Malfoy.

"Make sure you're on time Halliwell, I have to make it to the meeting," Pepper mocked, crossing her arms and leaning back on a desk as Malfoy faced her.

"Sod off," growled Malfoy. "I ran into some problems."

"Well guess what?" said Pepper.

"What?" Malfoy replied in a bored voice.

"Hermione and I found a _cure_! Well, we partly found it and the other part my aunts and I sorta made up so—"

"Give it to me," said Malfoy, excited now.

"Hermione, the potion please!" Pepper said dramatically, flinging out her hand. Hermione stepped out from the Invisibility Cloak, (trying not to show that Harry was there too, because he was there for protection, in case something went wrong), and that threw Malfoy off guard a little. Hermione handed Pepper a small purple vial.

Malfoy made a move to take it, but Pepper pulled her hand back from him. "A a ah, Malfoy, let's not get greedy. First you've got to promise me that you'll do everything in your power to protect me and my clone from getting mauled by evil, perverted Death Eaters while we're at Death Eater meetings and otherwise."

"Fine, I promise, just give me the damn potion," Malfoy said, glaring at Pepper.

"What are you going to swear by?" Pepper asked.

Malfoy glared at her. "You are kidding me. Do you really think I want to fucking die?"

"_No_, but I think you'd like me dead. So swear by….Hermione, what should he swear by?" Pepper asked her friend.

"Nothing. Pepper, I think he'll keep his word," Hermione said. She took a stunned Pepper's arm and pushed it in Malfoy's direction so that he could take the potion from her hand. Pepper didn't do anything as he retrieved it. He uncorked the vial and almost drank it, but Hermione put a hand on his arm.

He stopped, shooting her daggers through his eyes. "Don't drink it, Malfoy, we don't know what the side effects are, and you have a Death Eater meeting to go to. Take it after the meeting," Hermione told him.

He eyed her suspiciously for a moment before re-corking the bottle and sticking it in the pocket of his robe. His eyes focused back on Pepper. "I've got to go soon, Halliwell, so make this fast."

"Alright, alright, hold on," said Pepper. She shut her eyes tight and tried to remember everything that had made her mad this year. It didn't take very long for a clone to appear at her side. She opened her eyes and faced it. "Okay clone, go with Malfoy. Struggle and curse him and stuff so everyone thinks that you're me. Put up a damn good fight when then try to take your baby and kill you. Okay? You can try to Mirror out but I'm sure they'll have put something around the place so you can't. Don't fight them so much that they kill you right away, though. But you've got to do something if they try to….er…_hurt_ you. Okay?"

"Okay," said the clone in Pepper's voice.

"Good," said Pepper. "Now go."

Malfoy took the clone roughly by the arm and hauled her out the door.

Harry removed the Invisibility Cloak and came to stand by Pepper and Hermione. "What do you think will happen to it?" he asked.

"Dunno," said Pepper, and Harry could tell that she was very frightened. "I just hope it doesn't get killed and they don't find out that it's a clone."

"This is all happening so fast," Harry said. "Hopefully we have more time than I think we do."

"I wonder if I die when it dies," said Pepper, trying to be nonchalant. Her façade didn't work. Both Hermione put her hand comfortingly on Pepper's arm and Harry went around to Pepper's other side and wrapped his own arm around her shoulders. She rested her head on his shoulder, staring at the open door Malfoy had just left through.

"You're not going to die, Pepper," said Harry. He couldn't answer the question she had asked, but he hoped that wasn't true. He hadn't thought that the clone was that attached to her…

"We won't let you die," Hermione reassured her. "We will get out of all of this somehow. It'll all be over soon."

"It will only be over when both Voldemort and the Source are dead," Pepper said. Her voice sounded very hollow. Harry wanted to know what she was thinking. He hated when his friends felt like this. He rested his cheek on the top of her head.

"They'll die soon," said Harry. "I'll make sure of it. I can't stand another person dying." He paused for a few minutes before saying, "In fact, I have an idea. Pepper, get your aunts. And Hermione, get Dumbledore. I'll get Ron. Let's meet in the Great Hall."

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"Young Draco and Snape are missing," Voldemort stated as he looked around at the faces of the Death Eaters gathered in the small, dark chamber.

"We are here, my Lord," Snape bowed as he and Draco entered the room. "And we come with a gift."

Draco pulled the struggling Pepper clone into the room as well and the circle of Death eaters parted so he could throw her at Voldemort's feet. They reformed the circle so she couldn't escape.

"Ah…" said the Source pensively. "Good work, boy, but next time work faster."

Clone Pepper's hands were tied in front of her and she had a blindfold on, so she had difficulty getting off the ground. "Let me go!" she said once she was standing, though her voice shook. She was more frightened than she had thought she would be.

The Death Eaters laughed coldly at her. "She's pretty, my Lords," one of them said.

"Yes, and she's mine, once I put her baby in another," Voldemort sneered.

The Pepper clone shuddered. She longed for the blindfold to be removed so she could see where she was and who she was dealing with. If she could just get her hands free then she could freeze the room and run. She was afraid to try and Mirror, in case it didn't work or in case it _did_ work and she got Malfoy in a lot of trouble.

"Where is that damn Seer?" the Source roared. "The sooner this is over, the sooner we can make our attack. Seer!"

"I'm here," the Seer said calmly, entering the room. "I was preparing the potion." She stepped into the middle of the circle and walked around still-blindfolded Clone Pepper, who could feel eyes on her. "So this is the girl…" said the Seer.

The Death Eaters watched the Seer attentively. The Seer stopped walking and held up a vial with black liquid in it. "Remove the blindfold," she ordered.

"Draco—do it!" commanded Voldemort.

The Pepper clone felt Malfoy's footsteps bend the wooden floorboards as he came closer to her. He tried to keep his hands steady as he fumbled with the blindfold. When the cloth was finally removed from her eyes, the clone could see the Source and Voldemort standing importantly in front of her, the Seer close to them, and at least twenty cloaked Death Eaters. She couldn't even see half of the Death Eater circle. There were more of them behind her.

She tried not to look or act terrified as she was as Voldemort stepped into the circle and came closer to her. His face was the ugliest thing she or the real Pepper had ever seen. His skin was a pale grey, stretched over thin, jutting bones. His eyes were red slits and his teeth were pointy and yellow as he sneered.

She tried not to look away. She wanted to be brave, however hard that may be at this point. He walked around her, much like the Seer had, and her back went rigid. She thought that, if she were pregnant, it would be only logical for her to want to protect her baby. Her hand flew to her abdomen.

Voldemort chuckled, like she had wanted him to do. "You won't have to do that for long," he sneered.

"Seer, give the potion to Draco. He will feed it to her to prove his loyalty," said Voldemort, stepping back to his place at the head of the circle, alongside the Source.

As the Seer handed a reluctant Draco the small vial, there was a knock at the door. "Come in," said the Source. His voice told Clone Pepper that he already knew who it was. That dashed her hopes that it was someone to save her.

The door creaked open and eleven people entered. Ten of them were wearing Death Eater cloaks. One of them was Ivi Spada, who was smirking cruelly, though she looked worn.

"Azkaban is emptied, my Lords," said one of the Death Eaters. A cheer went up through the room, which made Clone Pepper sick to her stomach. That meant that Voldemort and the Source now had control of the Death Eaters, the demon factions, and all of the Dementors.

Shit.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Harry hurried through the halls to Gryffindor Tower, carrying the Invisibility Cloak. On the way he ran into the one person he had been trying to avoid.

"Where are you going so quickly, love?" Eowyn Cuomo purred seductively as Harry met up with her in the hallway. She knew what was happening tonight and she knew she had to double her charms with Potter so that he wouldn't be able to interfere in case he realized Halliwell was gone.

He stopped in his tracks when Eowyn put a delicate hand on his arm. He smiled at her, not being able to help himself. "I've got to talk to Ron," he responded.

She smiled at him. It was all he could do not to kiss her.

"But you can't leave me waiting here all alone, can you?" she pouted.

"Ah…I suppose not," he said. She smiled at him again. He smiled back and before he knew it he had her pressed up against the wall, kissing the life out of her, the Invisibility Cloak on the floor at their feet.

As he started to nibble on her neck she whispered, "Why don't we go back to my room?" **(A/N: Bad Elise!)**

He looked up at her. "Yeah," he said breathlessly.

She led him by the hand down staircases and corridors. He was elated for a good while but after a few minutes his mind started to work again. His face lost the dreamy look and he remembered what he needed to do. He yanked his hand away from hers. She turned around and glared at him, her seductive air forgotten. Before she could say anything, he turned and ran.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Draco walked defiantly out of the now-larger circle of Death Eaters to Clone Pepper's side. He looked like he wanted to say something to her but she knew he couldn't without getting in all sorts of trouble. Her eyes grew wide as he uncorked the potion. She wasn't sure if she or the real Pepper had ever been this scared in her life. "Get the hell away from me!" she screamed, backing up.

She'd stepped too far, though, because she was shoved from behind by the hands of a few Death Eaters. They pushed her too hard and she fell forward. She landed on her knees. Luckily, the floor was wood and not stone. Again, the Death Eaters laughed at her. Draco was coming ever closer, teeth clenched, potion in hand.

He held her head and forced it down her throat, the liquid burning her throat all the way down. The room was deathly silent.

She took a few deep breaths after swallowing, trying to recover from the burning sensation. The Seer began reciting a spell. A few moments later, while the Seer was still speaking, the writing pain started. She tried to stay still, but it overtook her pretty soon.

The stabbing pain ripped at her stomach and her heart pounded against her ribcage. Her skin felt like it was boiling. The Seer stopped talking in surprise.

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Most of the staff, Harry, Ron, Hermione, the Charmed Ones, Leo, many of the Order members, and a few Aurors were gathered around a table in the Great Hall. Harry was discussing his plan: to ambush the Death Eater meeting.

"They won't have any of the Dementors or demons around," he explained. "It's pretty much the ideal time to attack. Pepper can track her clone. We can just burst in and—"

He stopped suddenly when Pepper doubled over, crying out in pain. Instantly, her aunts and Hermione were at her side. "She's hurt," she bit out through the pain. "They've given her a-a potion. They're…they're trying to switch her baby to the Seer's body."

"We should hurry," said Dumbledore. "Round up as many of the Aurors and Order members as you can."


	48. Chapter 47: REVIEW IT

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**A/N: Here's another chapter and it didn't take me 2 months! HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF BLOOD PRINCE COMES OUT TOMORROW NIGHT, 12:01 A.M.! I'm going partying. Yes, I'm excited. Well, here's your chapter. You'd better review!**

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**Chapter Forty-Seven**

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"_Hermione! Have you seen my other black stiletto?" Pepper cried in panic, racing around the flat._

"_It's right here!" Hermione called._

_Pepper sped into the living room, her hair half curled, one stiletto on, to see Hermione standing there, dangling the other shoe from her finger. "Thank you!" Pepper gasped, taking the shoe from Hermione. "I have no other shoes that go with this outfit. I should go finish my hair!" Trying to put on her stiletto and walk at the same time, she hopped from the room. _

"_Hermione, Draco's here!" Pepper announced from the bathroom as she watched the familiar blonde pass the open bathroom door._

_Pepper heard Hermione and Draco in the sitting room, exchanging usual pleasantries, and then Hermione called out, "Pepper, we're leaving! Don't wait up for me."_

"_Well, if my date goes as well as I hope it will, I won't be here to wait up for you!" Pepper replied._

_She heard Draco and Hermione laugh. "Bye!" Hermione said._

"_Have fun, Pepper," said Draco._

"_You too, kids! Don't do anything I wouldn't do!" said Pepper as she finished curling her hair. There wasn't any reply from Hermione or Draco so she headed to the sitting room, expecting them to have already left; they were still there, though._

"_Oh, and Pepper," Draco said, "some advice on how to get laid tonight—"_

"_Advice that I don't need," Pepper retorted cockily._

"_Wear that black belly shirt with the weird sleeves," he continued._

"_Then I'd have to change my bellybutton ring," Pepper whined._

_Draco shrugged. "It's just a suggestion."_

"_You two are so full of yourselves," Hermione sighed, shaking her head. She grabbed Draco's arm and dragged him towards the front door._

"_Why Hermione, I'm chuffed!" Draco exclaimed in answer to her comment, and Hermione slammed the door behind him, leaving Pepper alone in the house._

_She strode over to the full-length mirror on the sitting room wall and glanced at her choice of attire. "I hate it when he's right," she muttered, and headed up the stairs to her bedroom to change her top to the one that Draco had suggested. Then, since this top showed her stomach, she changed her purple flower bellybutton ring to a silver star._

_The doorbell rang and she raced from her bedroom to the front door in a matter of seconds to answer it. She smoothed out her pants before she opened the door._

_Her date, Jake, was holding a dozen tiger lilies. "Hey, Pepper," he said, his eyes skimming over her body. "Wow, you look great."_

"_Thanks, Jake. You don't look so bad yourself." She smiled at him. _

"_Oh, these are for you," he remembered, handing her the flowers._

"_Thanks, I'll put these in some water," she said. "D'you want to come in?"_

_Wordlessly, he followed her in the house, back into the kitchen, where she went to the cupboard to get a vase._

"_You've got a really nice place," Jake said, sitting on a stool at the island in the kitchen._

"_Maybe you should come see it more often, then," said Pepper, turning from the cupboard to smile at him flirtatiously._

"_Perhaps I should," he said, smiling as well._

_The doorbell sounded again. "Excuse me," Pepper said, breaking her flirtatious gaze and headed to the front door once again. When she opened the wooden door Harry was standing there. He looked slightly nervous. When he saw what she was wearing, he became even more nervous._

"_Hey Pepper," he smiled. _

"_Harry," she said, "what are you doing here?"_

"_Well, you see—"_

"_Who is it, Pepper?" Jake appeared beside Pepper in the entryway._

"_Uh, Jake, this is Harry, my god brother. Harry, this is Jake, my boyfriend," Pepper explained._

_The two men exchanged waves as greetings. "I should come back later," said Harry, turning to go._

"_Did you want to tell me something?" Pepper asked._

"_Yeah," said Harry, "but it can wait."_

"_Hold on Jake, I'll just be a moment," Pepper said, flashing her date a grin before stepping out onto the patio, closing the front door behind her. "What is it, Harry?" she asked._

"_Oh, no, it's nothing," said Harry, but from the anxious look on his face Pepper could tell it was something. _

"_No, Harry, what is it?" Pepper asked, concerned. She wrinkled her brow. "Has it something to do with Tanya? I thought you two were doing well."_

"_No, we broke up a week ago," Harry shrugged, seeming indifferent._

"_Oh, I'm sorry, Harry," Pepper said sympathetically. She wondered if it had really been that long since she'd seen Harry._

"_It's alright, I broke it off," said Harry._

"_Why?" Pepper wondered. "I thought you really liked her."_

"_Well, you see, I…er…realized something," he said uncomfortably._

"_What would that be?" Pepper asked. She was determined to get this information out of him. She drummed three of her fingers against her shiny silver pants, the material silky to the touch._

"_I realized that I'm…in…in love with you, Pepper. I love you," he said hurriedly, looking away from her._

"_Oh my," Pepper breathed, eyes wide. _

The clone Pepper was passed out in the middle of the Death Eater circle, the Seer standing over her, looking puzzled.

"What's going on?" the Source hissed. "This is not supposed to happen!"

Draco stiffened. Once they found out that she wasn't pregnant, the Source and Voldemort would blame it on him. And they would kill the clone Pepper. Draco didn't know if the clone's connection to the real Pepper was strong enough to kill her too…

"This is your fault!" Voldemort yelled at the Source.

All of the Death Eaters shifted their eyes to the Source, who glared at his partner.

"I knew that damn Seer was no good!" Voldemort continued.

Draco's eyes went wide. It looked like there might be a chance that the powers of the Source and of Voldemort would clash and Good would have the slightest chance at winning the Last Battle….

The Source rounded on Voldemort. "If your insolent boy would have been more reliable then everything would have gone as planned! I can't have this fail!"

"_You_ can't have this fail!" Voldemort roared. "Everything depends on this! And because of your damn Seer it WILL fail!"

Right in front of the Death Eaters' unbelieving eyes, the Source conjured an energy ball and threw it at Voldemort. Voldemort moved out of the way and it hit one of the Death Eaters – Nott – and he screamed in pain and crumpled to the floor; his robes, hair and very flesh on fire.

_The first scene faded and another one appeared behind her eyelids._

"_Ariel's pregnant!" Ron announced, entering the kitchen. Pepper was standing at the sink, rinsing dishes off to put in the dishwasher, and Harry was sitting on one of the counters, talking to her. At Ron's announcement, he jumped off and went over to hug his best friend. _

"_That's great, mate!" said Harry. _

_Pepper smiled, and went over to hug Ron as well. "How far along is she?" she wondered, drying her hands on her jeans. _

"_Two months, but she just found out today. You guys are invited for dinner tomorrow, to celebrate," Ron said. _

"_Pepper!" called a voice from the living room. Hermione entered the kitchen, Draco on her heels. She looked flushed and excited. _

"_What is it, sis?" Pepper asked, wrinkling her brow. _

"_Aunt Phoebe's giving birth," Hermione explained._

_Pepper gaped at Hermione. "No," she said softly. "But they baby's not due for another six weeks."_

"_I know, but they need you there _now_," said Hermione sternly. "She's at the Pittsburgh General Hospital. Draco and I were just there; she's not doing too well, it would seem."_

"_Oh god," Pepper muttered, "Harry, Ron, d'you want to come?"_

_The two of them nodded, looking slightly worried. Pepper grabbed both of their hands and Mirrored out of the kitchen, Hermione and Draco going to the fireplace to follow. _

_Pepper, Ron, and Harry arrived in the corner of an empty waiting room. The walls were painted white and the floor was white marble. Pepper hurried over to the desk across from the waiting room, where a receptionist was filling out some paperwork. "Could you tell me where the maternity ward is, please?" she asked._

_The woman looked up at Pepper and smiled a greeting. Pepper smiled a hurried smile back. "My aunt's in labor," she explained to the woman._

_The woman smiled again, this time understandingly. "Maternity ward is down this hall and to your left." She pointed down the right side of the hallway._

"_Thank you," Pepper said, and she, Harry and Ron took off down the corridor. Piper and Paige were standing outside a door not too far down the hallway, and the trio stopped at that door. _

"_What's happening?" Harry asked. _

"_There's been a little trouble with getting the baby out," Piper explained, and she sounded worried. "I think they're going to have to do a C-section. She's already been in labor for _hours_…"_

"_Why didn't someone come get me before?" Pepper asked, worried herself now. Her black eyebrows knitted together, wrinkles in her forehead, her eyes full of concern. Harry grabbed her hand comfortingly and squeezed. A nice tingling sensation made its way up her fingers and arm._

"_It's been really dull, sitting around here for half a day," Paige shrugged. "We know how you can't sit still, Pep. And we wanted to know what was going on before we worried any of you guys."_

"_It seems like she'll be alright, though," Piper assured her niece._

"_I hope so," Pepper said. "I'm just glad it's not as bad as when you gave birth to Chris."_

_Hermione and Draco came down the hallway, fingers intertwined, joining the five people outside Phoebe's white hospital door, number 256. "Hey," Hermione greeted. She looked around the feet of the group. "Where're Chris and Wyatt? Weren't they just here?"_

"_We had Leo take them home," said Piper. "I didn't think they'd like hanging around here much longer."_

"_Speaking of hanging around," Ron said, "would you guys mind if I headed back home? Ariel was expecting me, and she's gotten very demanding today, since she just found out she's pregnant. It's like she's forcing her hormones into overdrive." He grinned, obviously happy about the whole situation, even if it meant waiting on his wife hand and foot._

"_Congratulations, Ron!" Paige and Piper chorused. _

"_Of course it's alright if you leave," Piper said._

"_Tell me how it all works out," Ron said to Harry and Pepper, who both nodded. Ron looked around the hallways. The wedding ring glinted on his finger as he waved them farewell. After making sure the coast was clear, he Apparated from the hospital, leaving the other six people to wait for Phoebe's baby to be born._

"Now look what you've done!" said Voldemort in incredulity, referring to the fallen Death Eater. All eyes were on Nott's smoldering body. Voldemort was amazed that the Source had just tried to kill him.

"I'll just do this myself!" the Source yelled, conjuring up another electric, blue energy ball. Before he threw it, there was a loud banging noise as the doors to the room flew open, the old wood flying off the hinges. One of the doors landed on a Death Eater, knocking him to the ground.

Everyone's eyes turned to the doorway, where a pack of people entered, led by Piper, Paige, Phoebe and the real Pepper. Before anyone had time to think twice about the two Peppers, the battle began.

_For a second time, the scene faded, another one coming in quick succession._

_Pepper, Harry, Hermione, Draco, Ron, Ariel, Ginny and Eric were gathered on the front porch of the Halliwell's house. Pepper, hand in hand with Harry, knocked on the door._

"_Come in Pepper!" came the muffled voice of Paige through the door._

_Pepper pushed the door open and the eight of them filed into the house, greeted by shouts, hugs, kisses, and introductions. Pepper was reluctant to release Harry's hand, but she had to so she could greet her family. _

_Phoebe ushered them all into the living room, which was smaller than the one they had had at the Manor but larger than the one they'd had in Montana, Pepper noted. She glanced around the room. It was the first time she'd been in her aunts' house since they moved._

_Harry sat in an armchair and Pepper sat next to him, on the chair's arm, her dangling leg bumping his every so often. Ginny and Eric were sitting alongside Ron and Ariel; Hermione and Draco were on the floor with Chris and Wyatt. Phoebe sat on the floor as well and Paige excused herself to go help Piper with dinner._

_Pepper breathed in deeply. "It smells wonderful," she commented, and everyone nodded their heads in agreement._

"_So, Wyatt, how's the magic school?" Harry asked._

_Wyatt seemed excited to be asked a question by Harry. "It's great," Wyatt said. "I'm the most powerful kid in class!" He beamed. "But I can't wait to go to Hogwarts. I know it'll help me a lot and make a great impression on me."_

_Pepper smiled at the effort Wyatt was making to impress Harry._

"_Well, if you're anything like your cousin Pepper, here, you'll make your own impression on Hogwarts."_

"_Hey!" Pepper said indignantly, though she was smiling. She hit Harry playfully on the chest. The rest of the room chuckled._

"_She did do a lot of cool stuff, didn't she?" said Wyatt._

"_Yes, she definitely did that," Hermione said, smiling._

The Dark side was definitely outnumbered by Good. The Death Eaters fought the Aurors, Order members, Charmed Ones and Hogwarts staff to fend them off until the Source could call demons to him and until Voldemort did the same with the Dementors. Plus, they were down by two Death Eaters: Severus Snape and Draco Malfoy were fighting on the side of Good now, knowing that this would be the Last Battle.

"It almost seems anticlimactic, you know?" Pepper yelled to her partner-in-battle, Hermione, as they fought off Ivi Spada, who was glaring at them as she fought. "I mean," she continued, freezing Spada and stunning her, "all this stuff has happened and now it's just like 'Alright, Harry's got to kill Voldemort now, the war will be over by tomorrow.'"

"Don't complain about the end of a war being anticlimactic, Pepper," Hermione warned, using a spell to wrap ropes tightly around Spada's wrists and ankles.

Pepper shrugged, throwing out another spell, and trying to grasp the pictures that were playing the back of her mind, a little too dim to see.

The demon factions and Dementors appeared a few minutes later, sweeping everyone in cold. It got considerably harder to fight in these conditions. It was lucky that Professor Giancarlo had taught her students how to do the Patronus Charm and it was a requirement to become an Auror and member of the Order.

"_No, you three were at Hogwarts five years longer than I was, and you caused a lot more commotion than I did," Pepper argued. "Harry fought Voldemort countless times, saved the Philosopher's Stone, won the TriWizard Tournament, he and Hermione saved my dad and Buckbeak, Ron found out the truth about Madam Maxime…you guys did way much more than I did. If I listed it all, we'd be here all night."_

"_Yes, but you kept things exciting," Harry said. "There's never a dull moment with you, Pepper."_

"_Too much information, Potter," said Draco._

_Pepper's jaw dropped in mock-shock, but she started laughing. Wyatt and Chris looked around, not getting Draco's joke._

"_So Chris, how're you doing in magic school?" Hermione asked._

_Chris sat up tall on his knees. "It's great," he said. "I'm doing really well and I've got lots of friends! But I wish they would lower the age you could go to Hogwarts to seven. Then I could go _now_."_

"_Enjoy magic school while it lasts, Chris," said Pepper. "Once you get to Hogwarts your life will probably be turned inside out."_

There she was, Bellatrix Lestrange, the woman who had killed her father. Their meeting reminded Pepper of an old Western movie: they saw each other, Lestrange smirked, and they stomped towards each other. No one else in the room mattered, though Pepper had to dodge a curse as she approached the killer. She squinted her eyes into a glare, but Lestrange just laughed at her. Pepper raised her wand, seemingly in slow motion, to send a curse the woman's way, but she was too slow.

"Avada Kedavra!" Lestrange shouted, breaking Pepper out of the slow motion trance.

She knew this to be the killing curse, and she wasn't in the mood to die tonight. She knew that she herself couldn't send the curse, so she had to decide a way to kill Lestrange without actually saying the words herself. As the bright green light sped towards her, Pepper had an idea. She tucked her wand under her armpit and held her hands out. As soon as the curse got close enough, she deflected it, sending it back to a wide-eyed Lestrange, who died as soon as the green light touched her. She joined the growing number of dead bodies littering the floor.

"_Dinner's ready!" Piper announced, and everyone filed into the dining room to eat. Pepper, Harry, Hermione, Draco, Ron, Ariel, Ginny, Eric, Piper, Leo, Phoebe, Wyatt, Chris, and Paige had to squeeze around the dining room table._

"_Where are Parker and Jake?" Hermione asked Phoebe._

_As she spoke, the doorbell rang. "There they are," Phoebe said, getting out of her chair. She left the room to go and answer the door, and when she returned she kissed Jake, who was holding Parker in his arms, she said, "Eric, Ginny, I don't think you've met my husband. This is Jake. And this little bundle of Terrible Two joy is Parker."_

_They sat down again and the Thanksgiving meal began. Under the table, Pepper kept playing with the gold ring around her finger. Harry, who was sitting beside her, saw her fidgeting and grabbed her hand so she would stop it._

"_So Aunt Paige, where's your current beau?" Pepper asked her aunt as she served herself some stuffing._

_Paige raised an eyebrow at her niece. "Actually, Michael is having dinner with his family tonight. He wanted me to come, but I told him I couldn't miss seeing my own family and friends."_

"_Wise choice," Pepper smirked jokingly. _

"_Do you like it here in Virginia?" Ariel asked the Charmed Ones._

_Piper shrugged. "It's no San Francisco but what can you do when everyone there thinks your dead?"_

"_We do like it a lot better than Montana, though. At least we can go to the beach," Phoebe said. "And the job options are better here as well."_

"_How's married life treating you, Hermione?" Piper asked, grinning._

"_Pretty wonderful," replied Hermione. "Our honeymoon to New Zealand was incredible, and now that everything's settling down, I'm realizing it's not as complicated as I thought it was going to be."_

"_That's good," Paige said. "Now the only unmarried couple besides me and Michael is Pepper and Harry." She turned to look at the two._

"_Actually…" Pepper began. "Well, this isn't really how I wanted to make the announcement, but…" She pulled her hand out from under the table and waggled her fingers so everyone in the room could see the sparkling diamonds around her finger. "Harry proposed two days ago." She grinned, as did her family, and all the women swooned over the ring for a few minutes._

"_Not too shabby, Potter," said Draco, admiring the ring. "It's almost as nice as the engagement ring I got for Hermione."_

"_Oh stop it," Hermione smiled, hitting Draco in the shoulder. Still, she looked down at her own ring._

This was it, the final showdown. There were only a few Death Eaters left. Voldemort and the Source were still alive. Pepper couldn't find her clone.

"Now, Harry, you've got to kill him NOW!" screamed Hermione as she tried to fight of a Death Eater single-handedly. She earned a gash in her shoulder as she dodged a spell. Ron rushed to her aid.

Meanwhile, Harry was fighting Voldemort with all he had.

"Face it, Harry; I'm the more powerful wizard. One of us has to die and it's going to be you," sneered Voldemort. "Avada Kedavra!"

Harry ducked and the green light shot over his head. "Pepper! A little help here, please!"

Pepper was helping her aunts with the Source, but at Harry's call she abandoned the wild potion-throwing and energy-ball-ducking to assist him with Voldemort.

_Pepper laid her feet across Harry's lap. She was beginning to get bored with the movie on the television and wanted to do something else._

"_Harry, would you like to go out somewhere?" she asked, playing with her wedding ring. "I'm tired of staying in the house."_

"_Where would you like to go?" Harry asked._

"_Wherever. We could go to a club or to visit Hermione and Draco."_

"_A club sounds good. We haven't gone to one in a while," Harry said._

"_Okay, just let me get changed," said Pepper, getting up and going into her room. She put on a silver blouse and a black skirt before leaving the room again._

_Harry hadn't really changed at all, but when Pepper went into the kitchen, he was on the phone. He had a very puzzled expression on his face. "Pepper, it's for you," he said. "It's the doctor's office."_

_Her face became puzzled as well. Harry stood beside her while she was on the phone, his arm around her waist._

"_Hello?" said Pepper._

"_Hello, Mrs. Halliwell, this is Doctor Trumble's office. When you came in for a check-up a few days ago we determined something from those tests we took," said the voice from the doctor's office._

"_Yes?" Pepper said, still very confused. She wondered if she was sick._

"_You're pregnant, Mrs. Halliwell, congratulations."_

_Pepper hung up the phone on the office representative on the other end of the phone. She felt faint and her hand flew to her stomach. "What is it, babe?" Harry asked. Pepper leaned against him._

"_I'm pregnant," Pepper said, in a shocked daze. She wasn't as shocked as the time in her sixth year when she thought Draco had gotten her pregnant, but this news still came as a surprise._

"_You're p-pregnant?" Harry stammered._

"_Yes, yes I am," Pepper replied. "And we're happy about it, right?"_

"_Ecstatic," said Harry, grinning like a madman._


	49. Chapter 48: I don't like titles anymore

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**Chapter Forty-Eight**

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It was over. The Final Battle was over. Pepper had found her clone and the tugging pictures at the back of her mind were gone. The Prophecy had been fulfilled.

Pepper got to her feet, breathing heavily, and stumbled over to Harry, who was lying facedown in the moldy wooden floorboards. She saw that Ron was attending to Hermione, but there wasn't much else she could see through the thick smoke. "Harry," she gasped, clutching her own bleeding and broken arm. She kneeled over him and tried to roll him onto his back. He groaned and rolled over. Pepper breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh thank god you're alive, Harry," she said. She brushed a bloody clump of hair from her face.

He looked terrible. His glasses had gone missing; his eye was black and purple. There was blood clotted in his hair and on his face. It appeared the lightning bolt scar on his forehead had split open. His lip was split, as well. His clothes were torn and his leg was twisted under his body.

"Harry?" Pepper touched the side of his face gently with her unbroken hand. His eyes fluttered open. "Hey," Pepper smiled.

"Hey," Harry croaked. "Is it over?"

"Yes," Pepper beamed. "It's over. Voldemort's dead. The Source is dead. The Death Eaters are all either dead or have been taken away. The demons are gone." Her face fell a little as she recalled the people fighting with her that she had seen fall.

"Who died on our side?" Harry asked, reading Pepper's mind.

"I couldn't really see anyone properly," Pepper said slowly. "I think I saw… Professor Ardel…I think he died. I-I'm not really sure of who else. Look, we'd better get back to Hogwarts. I think all of the survivors need to go to the Hospital Wing. Or to St. Mungo's."

"Let's see who else is here before we leave," Harry suggested.

"Why don't I do that, Harry, it looks like your leg is broken," said Pepper. "I'll get Ron to help me, he's right over there." Pepper looked over to where Ron was squatted over Hermione. "Hey Ron," she called. "Is Hermione alright?"

Ron looked up when he heard Pepper's voice. "She's unconscious," he replied. "Pepper, can you Mirror her back to Hogwarts? I want to see who else is alive."

"Yea, I'll take Harry back, too," Pepper said. "But he can't move, I don't think. His leg's broken."

"I'll carry Hermione over, then," said Ron. He was bloodied a fair bit himself, though none of his bones appeared to be broken, as he lifted a limp Hermione up and carried her over to Pepper.

"I'll be back at Hogwarts as soon as I can," Ron told Pepper.

"D'you want me to come back and help you?" Pepper asked.

"No, the three of you need immediate medical attention," Ron ordered. "I'll find someone who can Apparate or orb me back or something."

"Are you sure?" Pepper wondered again. Ron nodded. "Thanks Ron," she smiled, before closing her eyes, picturing the Hospital Wing, and Mirroring out of the room.

There were already a few people in the hospital when they arrived. Madam Pomfrey was bustling about, trying to care for everyone at once. Stinging pains shot through her arm and blood dripped from her head wound as Pepper helped Harry and Hermione to two empty beds. She found a third bed and as soon as she lay down, the world became black.

"I wish she'd wake up soon…"

"I want her to see the baby!"

Pepper groggily came to her senses and opened her eyes, finding her Aunt Paige and Aunt Phoebe looming over her.

"Ah, Pepper, you're awake!" Phoebe exclaimed softly; she didn't want to wake any of the sleeping people that filled the Hospital Wing.

"Do you feel well enough to go to St. Mungo's?" Paige asked. "Piper's had the baby!"

Once she registered what was just said, Pepper shot straight up in her bed and the room spun. Clutching her head, she said, "Well let's go! I want to see little Prudence Melinda!"

Phoebe and Paige exchanged uneasy glances. "Well actually—" Paige began, but Phoebe cut her off. "Let's just go!"

After attaining Madam Pomfrey's hurried permission and warning that Pepper had better come back soon, the trio Flooed to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. Hurrying to the maternity ward, they found Piper up and holding her baby, who was dressed in blue.

"Hey, Aunt Piper, how are you feeling?" Pepper asked, kissing her aunt on the forehead. Leo was sitting in a chair next to the hospital bed.

"Perfectly fine," Piper replied. "He came out in only a few hours."

"That's good…wait, _he_?" said Pepper, confused.

"Yes, it's a boy," Piper replied. She still seemed surprised herself.

Pepper sat on the edge of the bed and grabbed her nephew's little foot. "Have you named him yet?" she asked.

"No," said Leo. "We never thought it would be a boy, so we didn't really think of any boy names. All we know is that his last name is going to be Halliwell, not Wyatt."

Pepper nodded, and then suddenly became dizzy. She wavered where she sat.

"We'd better get you back to the Hospital Wing, Pep," Phoebe said, grabbing Pepper's arm. "We don't want you passing out. You fought really well, by the way."

"Thanks," Pepper smiled, before the room spun again. Before she knew it, she was back in her hospital bed, under the care of Madam Pomfrey.

The next time she awoke, the Hospital Wing was emptier and Ron was sitting in a chair a few beds away, his back turned. There was a large pile of sweets on a stand at the foot of her bed.

When he heard the creak of a bed frame, Ron turned around to find Pepper sitting up, looking considerably better than she had when he'd awoken yesterday. "Feeling better, Pepper?" he asked.

She rubbed her eyes. "Much better, thanks," she replied. "I take it you're all fixed up."

"Yep," Ron grinned. Pepper saw that he had a scar on his right cheek. "I woke up really early this morning after getting a good rest of, I think Madam Pomfrey said it was a good day, so I'm all right."

"So it's only been two days since the battle?" said Pepper.

"Yea," Ron replied, nodding. "It was Saturday night, and it's Monday afternoon."

"Are Harry and Hermione up yet?" Pepper wondered.

"Nope," said Ron."But Madam Pomfrey said that they'd be fine. They just got more banged up than we did."

"D'you…d'you know who died?" Pepper asked cautiously.

Ron sighed. "Surprisingly, we didn't loose too many people. From the Order we lost Arabella Figg, Mundungus Fletcher, Emmeline Vance, Professor Ardel and Mad-Eye Moody died protecting Harry."

"I didn't really know any of them except Professor Ardel," Pepper stated. "It seems we're lucky that no one in our families died."

"Very lucky," said Ron, before Madam Pomfrey swooped over and shoved a spoon of foul-tasting medicine down an unsuspecting Pepper's throat.

"That's to finish the healing," she explained. "Now you are free to go. I've heard that your aunts and uncle are still residing in the East Tower."

"Thank you, Madam Pomfrey," Pepper choked out, coughing from the medicine.

The medi-witch waved her wand at the pile of candy by Pepper's bed and it all disappeared. "You'll find it all on your bed in Gryffindor Tower," Madam Pomfrey

But Pepper didn't leave. She got out of the bed in her hospital-given pajamas and walked over to the bed Ron was sitting next to, which Hermione was lying in. She was still unconscious but her eyelids were fluttering, so Pepper suspected she was merely sleeping.

"Has she woken up yet?" she asked Ron, putting a hand on his shoulder as the two of them gazed down at Hermione's restless face.

"This morning she had her eyes open for a few seconds, but that's it," said Ron, sighing. "She didn't say anything.

"What about Harry?" Pepper wondered, looking around at the array of beds for his familiar face.

"He hasn't woken up at all. Madam Pomfrey said he had some internal bleeding," Ron responded as Pepper made her way around the room. She finally found Harry's bed and sat on the edge of it.

He looked to be healed except for the very pained expression on his face and the way his scar had changed. The lightening bolt adorning his forehead had grown much darker and wider. The sheets on his bed were tangled in his limbs; he was not resting peacefully, that much was certain. His hand was resting on the edge of the mattress and Pepper grabbed it, rubbing her thumb across his knuckles.

As she glanced around the room again, still holding Harry's hand lightly, Pepper found that most of the beds had a pile of sweets on a table at the end. She smiled. It was good to know that what happened a few days ago was appreciated.

Pepper squeezed Harry's hand before getting up and going back over to Ron. "Hey Ron, I'm going to go and see my aunts, maybe get dinner or lunch or whatever meal it is they're having soon. Would you like to come? You look famished."

Ron looked at Hermione then up at Pepper. He shrugged. "Sure, why not," he said. "I didn't have breakfast this morning and I'd like to see the baby again. Your aunts brought him in this morning to check up on you."

"Ah," Pepper said. "Then let's get going."

The hallways were quiet as they made their way to the Charmed Ones' tower, and Pepper and Ron were silent as well. Pepper wondered if exams were being taken and she was going to have to make them up.

"You know, Pepper, I'm really glad you came to Hogwarts this year," said Ron quietly.

"Thanks Ron," Pepper smiled. "I'm glad I did too."

They got quiet again, but it was only a few minutes before Ron said, "Harry really fancies you, you know."

All Pepper could think of to say was, "Oh."

It was clear that Ron was waiting for Pepper to say something more constructive than two letters. He pushed her answer along a bit, though Pepper had no intention of responding to him. "You really fancy him as well, right?" said Ron, looking straight ahead and not towards Pepper at all.

"Er…" Pepper thought about this for a moment. She thought she still had romantic feelings for Harry, but she knew they weren't as strong as they were towards the beginning of the school year. She wasn't sure if she fancied him enough to date him again. "Honestly Ron, I don't think so."

She glanced over at Ron's profile and he didn't try to hide his disappointment with her answer. "I mean, I like him, but not that much…I don't think," she continued. "And there are a few things I want to clarify before I sort out my feelings about Harry."

When they arrived at the portrait they were headed for, Pepper knocked. Phoebe answered the knock, almost crushing Pepper with her welcome hug. She gave Ron a hug as well. "Pepper, Ron, it's so great to know you're okay!" She looked around them into the corridor. "Are Hermione and Harry here?"

"No, they still haven't woken up," replied Ron.

"But Madam Pomfrey said that they'll both be perfectly alright," Pepper added quickly to reassure her aunt, Ron and herself.

"That's good. Well, come in, come in," Phoebe said, stepping aside so they could enter the tower.

Piper and Leo were sitting on the couch, playing with the baby on Piper's lap. They looked up as Pepper and Ron entered. "Pepper, you're alright!" said Leo, getting up and hugging his niece and kissing her on the top of the head. "And you're up and about as well, Ron," he smiled, shaking Ron's hand instead of hugging him.

"Harry and Hermione are still in the Hospital Wing," Pepper said before any more questions could be asked. "Where's Aunt Paige?"

"She went to the kitchens to get Leo and I some lunch," Piper explained. "We can't very well go down to the Great Hall with a baby."

"So lunch is soon, then?" Pepper asked, her stomach rumbling. She had no idea what time it was at the moment.

"Yea, the next bell," said Phoebe, sitting in an armchair. Pepper went over to the couch to see the baby and Ron followed.

"Can I hold him?" Pepper asked her Aunt Piper. Piper handed the baby to Pepper, who cradled him.

"He's the cutest thing I've ever seen," she cooed, ticking him under the chin. He scrunched his face up in a giggle. Pepper glanced up at her Aunt Piper. "Have you come up with a name for him yet?" she wondered.

Piper shook her head. Pepper held the baby out a little for Ron to look at him, as he didn't look too keen to take the baby from Pepper's arms. "Is it going to start with a "P" to keep the tradition alive?" Pepper wondered.

"We're not really sure yet," Piper said, glancing at her husband. "There aren't really too many boys names out there that start with "P.""

"Paul, Patrick, Peter," Pepper tried.

"Phoebe won't let us name him Peter because of a boyfriend she once had," said Piper, and it looked like she was fighting the urge to roll her eyes.

"He could be French and be Pierre," suggested Ron.

"Or he could have a Spanish name like Paco or Pablo," added Pepper.

Piper crinkled her nose at all of their suggestions. Just as she opened her mouth to say something, the bell sounded, echoing through the tower. "Food!" cried Pepper. She kissed her nephew, handed him back to his mother, and, after saying their goodbyes, she and Ron hurried down to the Great Hall for lunch.

It was apparent that the entire school knew almost everything that had happened during the battle. When Ron and Pepper walked in, only a few seconds late, most of the eyes in the room turned to them. As they made their way over to the Gryffindor table, more than a few people came over to them, congratulating and thanking them. There were also a handful of people that asked Pepper and Ron if they liked the sweets they sent.

They finally managed to brush their followers off and made it to their seats. "Ron!" Ginny exclaimed when her brother sat down next to her. She wrapped him in her arms. "I'm so glad you're okay, I couldn't get to see you this morning!"

"Ginny, I can't breathe!" Ron gasped, trying to wriggle out of his sister's grasp.

"Oops, sorry," said Ginny, pulling away. "And _Pepper_!" She shoved Ron out of the way so she could get to Pepper, giving her a vice-grip hug as well. "You guys have to see today's _Prophet_…I took your copy from Cashlinn, Pepper, she wouldn't leave until someone had taken it…" Ginny rummaged around in her bag for a while before pulling out a copy of the _Daily Prophet_. "Here you are," she said, offering it to Pepper.

**He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named Defeated At Last!**, read the front headline.

_Last Saturday night, June 4th, Harry Potter defeated He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named in a battle, which took place in the old Riddle House. Our source, who whishes to remain anonymous, revealed to us that on Saturday night, Pepper Halliwell found the location of a Death Eater meeting, and with the help of Albus Dumbledore, assembled a team of Aurors, Hogwarts staff members, various staff members, Harry Potter, the famed Charmed Ones, Hermione Granger and Ronald Wealsey, and ambushed the Death Eater meeting at the Riddle House, where another powerful wizard like Voldemort was residing. The battle lasted for hours and most returned unscathed. Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived, defeated Voldemort in the long battle, as we all predicted he would do in the end, and now we can all sleep more soundly. The names of the dead are not being released at this time. This reporter is determined to get more information, and will have interviews with the heroes in mere days._

"Well then," said Pepper after she'd finished reading the article. "I wonder who their anonymous source was.

"Dunno," said Ron. "But I'm happy I got all those sweets because of this article."

After a filling lunch, Pepper, Ron and Ginny made their way up to the Hospital Wing to check up on their friends, Hermione and Harry. They saw immediately that Hermione was sitting up in bed, eating a bowl of soup from a tray floating in midair.

"Hermione!" Ron exclaimed a little too loudly, racing through the room to get to her. It looked like he was about to attack her with affection, but he decided against it and just kissed her on the cheek. "How're you feeling?" he asked, sitting by her bed before Ginny and Pepper had even gotten near Hermione.

"I feel great Ron," Hermione assured him. "Hi Pepper, Ginny," she greeted with a smile as the two came to stand beside her bed as well. She finished her soup and it immediately disappeared. "Where's Harry?"

"He still hasn't woken up," Pepper replied. "You might want to read this." She handed Hermione the _Daily Prophet_.

Hermione scanned the article. "Well, I don't think we should give any interviews; unless we want them to know what really happened…" She looked around at her friends' faces.

Pepper shrugged. "I dunno," she said. "I mean…if it would comfort people to know what really happened…"

"We don't want them to twist it into something it isn't," Ron added. "Though I don't know if I want to recall everything that happened…" He shuttered and Pepper knew he was talking about the people he had killed. The four students had had to get creative with ways to destroy the Death Eaters, since they didn't actually have the nerve or power to cast the Killing Curse. Their ways had worked, though, and each had killed their share of people.

"I agree with you, Ron, we don't want them turning it into something it wasn't," Hermione agreed. "I guess we can all talk about it once Harry's awake."

"I want to go see how he's doing," Ginny excused herself, going to the other side of the room, Pepper in tow. Ginny sat on the edge of his bed and Pepper took the chair next to the bed.

The both sat in silence for a moment before Pepper said, "Ginny, do you like Harry?"

Ginny's cheeks flushed pink. "Yes," she said quietly. "I know I'm going out with Dean and everything but…" She looked Pepper in the eye. "Please don't tell anyone."

"I won't," Pepper promised, a small knot forming in her stomach. "I wonder when he'll wake up," she wondered, changing the subject.

"Hopefully soon," said Ginny, putting her hand over Harry's hand. She looked up at Pepper again. "You know Pepper, if you ever want to talk about what happened on Saturday or anything…I know Hermione probably won't want to discuss it…I'm here."  
"Thanks Gin," Pepper said. A second later, Harry groaned and rolled over, facing Ginny.

"Harry?" said Ginny uncertainly. He groaned again. "Hi Harry." Ginny smiled at him; Pepper guessed that his eyes were open.

"Hi Gin," he said, though his throat sounded very dry.

"Would you like some water, Harry?" Ginny wondered, looking at Pepper to tell her to pour Harry a glass of water. Pepper picked up the water jug on Harry's nightstand and poured some of the liquid into a glass. She handed it to Ginny, who gave it to Harry.

Harry sat up and looked over at Pepper. He smiled took a swig of the water. Pepper handed him his glasses and he put them on his face. "Thanks, Pepper," he said.

"No problem," said Pepper. She looked over to where Ron was still sitting with his girlfriend. "Hey Ron, Hermione, Harry's awake."

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**A/N:** This is a change, my Author's Note is at the end! So who else was disappointed by Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince? I didn't think there was enough action. AND DRACO IS EVIL! I almost cried! Anyways, here's to my reviewers:

**Little Miss Spell-of-the-Week: **The future sequences go in order, but I'm not going to verify ages…use your imagination…or common sense.

**Powerof3or4: **THANK YOU SO MUCH! I'm so glad you love my story! No, that chapter was not the end, but I'm getting close to it. Check out some of my other stories too. :-)

So, I hope you guys liked this chapter and you should REVIEW! It really doesn't take that long…only a few seconds…pleaseeeeeee.

If anyone wants to IM me to talk about HP and the HBP, please do. I loveeeee to talk about it. Hehe.


	50. Chapter 49: Fame

**A/N: **Thank you to my four loyal reviewers! I'm afraid I lost some readers when I didn't update for so long…if you people are reading this could you please review? It makes me a lot less depressed when I see that people are reading my story. Even if it's a flame, though I doubt flamers would follow the story to chapter fifty.

This is not the end, I will announce when it is. However, the story is coming to a close very very soon.

**charmedsisters: **The answer to who killed the Source is in this chapter. Yes, Wyatt is still twice-blessed, even though I sorta screwed that up. I was initially going to write more of the battle, but I realized it would suck, so I didn't. I'm really not sure about a sequel. It depends on how many people want one.

**Little Miss Spell-of-the-Week:** Yea, I went and got the book at midnight and was finished by the next afternoon. It took me 8 hours to read. If you want to discuss it you can IM me. My screenname is in my profile…I think.

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**Chapter Forty-Nine**

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"That wasn't so bad, was it?" Hermione asked her friends as they collapsed on the scarlet sofa in front of the fire in the Gryffindor common room.

"After I learned how to beat up reporters who decided to maul me," said Pepper, leaning on Hermione's shoulder.

Harry, Ron, Hermione, Pepper and Malfoy, along with the Charmed Ones, Hogwarts staff and a few of the Aurors, had just had a "press conference" about the last battle. It had been held in the Great Hall and thousands of reporters had attended.

"Did any of them want your autographs?" Harry wondered, sprawling out in his seat from exhaustion.

"A few," said Ron. "But they weren't as crazy as the students have been."

For the past few days, Hogwarts students of every house had been asking the four of them and Draco Malfoy for their autographs. Articles about the Final Battle had been coming out in various newspapers every day, though reporters didn't know too much about it until today. The Gryffindors, however, had all gotten their autographs if they wanted them, and now the four friends were able to sit in peace again.

"I just don't want to think about that battle again," Pepper sighed.

"I'd have to agree with you there, Pep," said Hermione, leaning on Ron's shoulder, causing Pepper to lean over more.

Ron and Hermione began to kiss and Pepper sat up abruptly, turning to Harry. She said softly to him, "So are you going to ask Ginny out?"

Harry looked stunned. "But…Ginny likes me?" he said after a moment.

Pepper nodded, trying to keep her expression neutral. She thought it would be best if she moved on from Harry, and he from her. She was too confused about what she felt for him at the moment. And she wasn't entirely sure that Ron was telling her the truth when he said Harry really liked her.

"You like her, don't you?" Pepper said.

"Well…" said Harry, thinking for a moment. Then he broke out in a wide grin. "I suppose I do."

"Good then," said Pepper, smiling as well. "You should ask her out."

"I dunno if Ron would like that very much," said Harry, raising his eyebrow. "Plus, Ginny's going out with Dean."

"Not anymore," said Pepper. "She broke up with him yesterday."

"Maybe I will ask her then," said Harry with a half-smile.

"What're you two whispering about?" Hermione asked, leaning over Pepper to look at her and Harry.

"Nothing," Pepper smiled. "Well, I'm beat; I'm going to bed. Night everyone."

Pepper headed up to the girls dormitory, but instead of going to bed, she decided that she needed to talk to her aunts. An idea was forming in her head. She had a question for her family.

After making sure that no one was around to witness her power, (she wanted to keep her powers private; for the past few days people had been asking her to show them off), she Mirrored to her aunts' tower.

Piper was the only one in the sitting room area; the baby was in her lap. "Hey, Aunt Piper," Pepper greeted. She walked over to the armchair where her aunt was sitting.

Piper looked up from the child's sleeping face. "Oh, hi Pepper," she said softly so she wouldn't wake the baby. "What's up?"

"I just wanted to talk," said Pepper, equally as quiet as her aunt. "How's my cousin doing? Does he have a name yet?"

Piper sighed and shook her head. "We can't find one that we agree on," she whispered, looking down at her child lovingly. She then looked back up at he niece. "So why're you here?"

"I wanted to talk to you, Aunt Phoebe, Aunt Paige and Uncle Leo."

"Well Phoebe's in her room, and Paige and Leo are off fighting a demon or something…" Piper replied.

"So they weren't all following the Source?" Pepper said, taking a seat in an armchair opposite Piper.

"I guess not," said Piper. "We're a lot safer now, though, with a lot of the demons and the Source gone. It took a hell of a lot of potions, but I'm glad Paige found the one that could defeat him."

"And it's a good thing that you didn't give birth until after the battle. Otherwise you wouldn't have been invincible," Pepper pointed out.

"Well why don't you go and get Phoebe and we'll wait for Paige and Leo to come back," Piper suggested.

Pepper stood and headed to the spiral staircase. She was now standing in a hallway with four doors: three bedrooms and a bathroom. She knew that the second door on the right was her Aunt Phoebe's room, so she knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" Phoebe called from inside.

"Pepper," she answered. Phoebe beckoned her in and Pepper opened the door.

Phoebe was sitting on her queen-size bed, painting her toenails blue. "Hey Pepper," she said, twisting the cap back on the nail polish bottle and fanning her toes. "What's up?"

"I wanted to talk to you, Aunt Piper, Aunt Paige and Uncle Leo," Pepper replied. "I know Aunt Paige and Uncle Leo aren't here yet, but if you could come down to the sitting room…"

Piper was in the hallway, closing the door to her room, as Pepper and Phoebe left Phoebe's bedroom. "I was putting the baby down," Piper explained. The three of them headed back to the sitting room.

Surprisingly enough, Leo and Paige were already down there. "Ah, good, you're all here!" Pepper exclaimed.

"Pepper wants to tell us something," said Piper, her eyebrow raised. They all sat down on the various couches and chairs in the room and Pepper began her proposition.

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Their faces were on the front page of the _Daily Prophet_ the next morning. Pepper, Harry, Hermione and Ron all grabbed their copies from their owls when the post came. Smiling at them from the front page was a huge picture of the four of them, Malfoy, Professors Dumbledore, McGonagall, Giancarlo, Sprout, Snape, Flitwick, Sinstra, and Vector, Piper, Phoebe, Paige and Leo, and a group of Aurors and Order members that Pepper did not know. Harry was in the front of the picture, of course, because the Ministry and the _Prophet_ loved to endorse the Boy-Who-Lived.

The picture took up the entire front page and squeezed below it were the words _Full Interviews Inside_. Flipping through each page; Pepper saw that most of the newspaper was full of interviews about the war.

"I hope they haven't twisted our words too much," said Hermione as she turned the page to read the interviews. "Ah, Harry, yours is first."

"That's a big surprise," Ron mumbled.

Hermione read aloud, (half of the Gryffindor table was listening in), "_Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived, as finally defeated You-Know-Who, as we all have suspected he would. _

_The son of late Lily and James Potter, Harry has been going to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for six years. He spends his summer holidays at the home of his Muggle relatives. Mr. Potter is a very talented wizard and possibly the most talented Quidditch player Hogwarts has seen for years. He plays the position of Seeker on the Gryffindor team and has only lost one game in his playing history. _

_Potter has had more hardships in his sixteen years of life than most people will have in their entire lives, including having his parents killed by You-Know-Who when Harry was just one year old. He has faced He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named several times in his years at Hogwarts, and every time has come out unscathed. This time, however, instead of merely escaping You-Know-Who, young Harry destroyed him. With the help of his rumored girlfriend, Pepper Halliwell, and his best friends Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasley, Potter was able to find You-Know-Who and incinerate him_."

"Rumored girlfriend?" Pepper said loudly, interrupting Hermione. "Where do they get these things?"

"Continue, Hermione," Harry said, trying not to reveal that Pepper had rustled his feathers with that comment. That proved it: she didn't like him. He was definitely going to ask Ginny out now.

Hermione went on, "_When asked what exactly went on that night, Potter divulged that Pepper Halliwell found out where the Death Eater meeting was taking place and from there he and a group of witches and wizards attacked the meeting. The battle was long, said Potter, and there were many unnamable demons and Death Eaters to defeat. It seemed that You-Know-Who—_"

"They're still too afraid to print Voldemort's name!" Harry exclaimed.

Hermione continued with the article. "_It seemed that You-Know-Who had teamed up with another powerful being, called the Source, _(see page 6 for more information on the Source)_, and the two were difficult to beat. Said Potter, "If it weren't for Pepper and her aunts and uncle, there's no way we could've won. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was nothing compared to the Source." Potter said that after all of the Death Eaters and demons were dead, he was able to get to You-Know-Who. With assistance from Pepper Halliwell and Ronald Weasley, Potter was able to weaken He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and when You-Know-Who threw the Killing Curse at Potter, Potter was able to reflect it back to him using a shield charm and focusing on his loved ones. Love seems to be You-Know-Who's ultimate end._

"They didn't alter it too much," commented Harry. "I still can't believe they won't print Voldemort's name. Do they think he'll come back from the dead and kill them if they say it?"

"I want to hear your interview, Hermione," said Ron. He slipped a hand around her waist.

"But Pepper's is next," Hermione replied. As she opened her mouth to begin reading, Malfoy came storming over to their table.

"Move over, Granger," he snarled, shoving Hermione over on the bench and sitting next to her. Lavender Brown, who was sitting on the other side of Hermione, seemed very surprised to now have Draco Malfoy sitting next to her. In fact, it seemed to make her a little giggly.

Malfoy brandished the _Prophet_ in front of Pepper's face across the table. "What, Malfoy?" Pepper asked. "I know the picture of you is bad, but that's not my fault."

"Black?" said Malfoy, drawing the paper away from Pepper's face. He put it down on the table in front of him; right into Hermione's breakfast. She sneered at him. "You're a Black?" he continued.

"Oh, yea, I am," Pepper said. "Wait, how'd you find that out?"

"It's in your interview," replied Malfoy.

Pepper picked up her own copy of the newspaper. _Pepper Halliwell-Black is the orphaned daughter of ex-fugitive Sirius Black and Prudence Halliwell, a late Charmed One. For those of you who don't know anything about the Charmed Ones, they are…_

"I didn't tell them about being a hyphen," Pepper said, furrowing her brow. Then she remembered the first time she met Mr. Weasley. _"Halliwell-Black, isn't it?" Mr. Weasley had asked. "Yes…" Pepper'd said. "How'd you know?" "I work for the Ministry of Magic," had been Mr. Weasley's quick explanation. _

"But the Ministry knew," Pepper continued. "And now so does everyone else."

"We're second cousins," said Malfoy, glaring at Pepper.

She shrugged. "I guess so." Pepper grinned at the furious look on his face.

"So, Malfoy, are you good now?" Harry asked, somewhat jokingly. "Since you took that potion, I mean? Your daddy isn't here to order you around anymore. Hell, you don't even have to be in Slytherin anymore! We could have you switched over into Gryffindor!"

"Shove it, Potter," Malfoy said angrily.

"But shouldn't we be on a first name basis now, since you're going to be our roommate?" said Ron.

Malfoy got up and left, leaving the Gryffindors to have a laugh at the Slytherin's expense.

"You're Sirius Black's _daughter_?" came a question from a younger Gryffindor.

"Isn't that what it says in the paper?" Pepper snapped. "I did give the interview myself."

Meanwhile, a few of the first and second year Gryffindors were coming over timidly, asking Harry to autograph their copies of the _Daily Prophet_. "Honestly," said Hermione in disbelief, "they see Harry every day."

But when the group spread out and started asking Hermione, Ron and Pepper for their autographs as well, all Hermione did was turn pink.

"Will you be my girlfriend?" a first year asked Hermione, who turned even pinker.

Ron tightened his grip around her waist. "Shove off, midget, she's taken," he said gruffly.

Pepper and Harry laughed, but Hermione said, "Ron, don't be so mean!" The first year just bent his head and walked away.

"Oh Pepper! Ooh! Pepper! Can I have your autograph? I just _adore_ you _so _much!"

Pepper looked up, recognizing the voice, and saw Alana hurrying towards the Gryffindor table, waving a paper frantically in imitation of the eleven-year-olds. Pepper laughed as her friend came over. "Move over, Granger, if you would," Alana said, much like Malfoy, and squeezed onto the seat without Hermione's consent. "Hey, Halliwell," she greeted with a grin. "Looks like you've been busy."

"Yea, I have been," Pepper replied. The pile of first and second years was thinning. "Where's Blaise?"

"With Draco, no doubt," Alana said, sounding slightly miffed.

"What happened?" Pepper asked.

"We don't want to know about your personal life, Stoke, so if you'd leave, we'd all appreciate it," said Ron, none-too-friendly.

Alana turned to Ron, who was leaning over his girlfriend to talk to the Slytherin. "I'm not talking to you, Weasel, I'm talking to Pepper. Besides, you should be glad I'm sitting here: I'm shoving your girlfriend onto your lap."

Ron didn't say anything more. Alana rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to Pepper. "I broke up with Blaise," Alana continued.

"What? Why?" Pepper wondered.

"He was getting too boring for me," Alana said, though Pepper could tell there was something more to it. "Well, I'm going now. I'll see you later, Halliwell." Alana got up and left the table; Hermione slid back over into her seat.

"Why are you friends with her, Pepper?" Ron asked.

"Why does everyone keep asking me that? I can be friends with whomever I wish. Plus, now that Voldemort's gone, there shouldn't be so many rivalries," Pepper pointed out.

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_Miss Halliwell-Black just started Hogwarts this year and has proved to be one of the top students of her year. She lives with her three aunts and her uncle. Though Miss Halliwell would not confirm this herself, Hogwarts students revealed to this reporter that Miss Halliwell has special magical powers, such as freezing time, cloning herself, the power to deflect objects, and telekinesis. These reports seem sensible, since Miss Halliwell's own mother was a Charmed One. _

_On the night of the Battle, Miss Halliwell reported that she was able to find the location of the Death Eater meeting through careful study and planning, and a little spying. Professor Dumbledore had most of the side of Good gather in Hogwarts' Great Hall to devise a plan to ambush the meeting, and it appeared to work. "I hope this will be the last battle I ever see in my life," said Halliwell. Though she is used to killing demons, she had never vanquished any humans before. That is, if you could call the Death Eaters human._

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	51. Chapter 50: Late Night Talks

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**A/N: **Thank you to my reviewers! I have 350 reviews! And guess what? This is chapter 50 and it falls on page 300! Wow…I think I may go up to page 320…and there might be a sequel.

So, all of you reviewers and readers if you'd like a sequel, please review at the end of this short and crap chapter and tell me!

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**Chapter Fifty**

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A funeral for Arabella Figg, Mundungus Fletcher, Emmeline Vance, Garrick Ardel, Mad-Eye Moody, Bernard Straw, Edgar Truckle, Patricia Jones, and Kelly Wells was held the next day on the Hogwarts grounds, near the lake. By that time, Ginny and Harry were going out.

The day after the funeral was the start of their exams. Hermione, of course, was very jittery, even though she and the rest of the school knew that she would do perfectly fine.

By that night, the entire Gryffindor house was exhausted from being tested to hard, and most of them went to bed a bit early, including Pepper. After tossing and turning for two hours and deciding that sleep was definitely not going to come, she climbed out of bed and went down to the common room. The only person occupying the room was Harry, clad in only flannel pajama bottoms, and staring into the dying fire. His legs were drawn up to his chest.

"Hey Harry," Pepper said, stepping into the ring of light the fire gave off.

Harry glanced up. "Oh, hey Pepper," he said, giving her a half-hearted smile.

She took a seat next to him on the couch. "I couldn't sleep," she said, explaining her presence.

"Me neither," said Harry. Then he fell silent, staring into the tiny flames dancing in the fireplace.

"Do you want to talk about something?" Pepper asked, staring into the fireplace as well.

"I can't stop thinking about all those people that died because of me," said Harry blandly.

"I think I assisted with that, Harry," Pepper said.

"If it weren't for me…" Harry looked over at Pepper, and she turned to face him. His eyes were full of indescribable emotion. "If it weren't for me Sirius would still be alive," he whispered.

"Harry, no," she said, shaking her head. "No, it wasn't your fault…you didn't kill him."

"I've been thinking about him and my parents a lot lately. And if I had never been born they never would have had to die…all three of them would still be alive right now," said Harry, not dropping his gaze from Pepper's. He wanted her to know what he was feeling without actually explaining it.

"And most of the world would be dead, Harry. Don't blame any of this on yourself. None of it, absolutely none, is your fault," Pepper said gently. "You just saved the world Harry. You _saved_ everything, not destroyed it."

Harry shook his head slightly. "Someone else could have done it, like Neville. And people wouldn't have died because of me."

His emerald eyes swam with tears and Pepper's heart broke. "Harry," she said, and her voice was strained, "it's all over. You don't have to worry about anything anymore. You saved the world—"

"Pepper, don't you get it!" Harry practically yelled. His eyes were now full of fire, though the tears were still present. He looked away from her, back into the fire, and when he turned to her again, tears were streaking his cheeks. "You should hate me! I killed your father!"

"Harry, no," she said, tears welling up in her eyes as well. She hated seeing Harry like this. He was usually so strong… "Harry, you only did good things. You did _not_ kill my father. It's not your fault at all…" her voice faltered and she cast her eyes down.

"I'm so sorry, Pepper," Harry said. When Pepper looked up at his face, she saw that he was crying freely.

She pulled him into a hug and let him cry on her shoulder. He was sobbing now; sobs that shook his body. Pepper stroked his back. She wondered how often he did this when he was alone. "Harry, don't blame yourself for anything. You just saved the entire population of the world from Voldemort."

This didn't seem to comfort Harry. Pepper wasn't sure if anything would. She tried a different tactic. "If you were a bad person you wouldn't have so many people that love you, Harry. Hermione, Ron, Ginny, the Weasley family, Professor Dumbledore, Lupin, me…we all love you Harry. Everyone loves you. You're amazing and wonderful."

She felt Harry laugh into her shoulder. "It's true," Pepper stressed.

Harry turned his head and rested the side of it on Pepper's shoulder, looking into the fire again. She rested her cheek on his head. "You don't usually talk to someone when you break down like this, do you?" Pepper asked.

"No," said Harry throatily. "It's not like I do this often, though."

"I know I just happened to intercept this, but you can talk to me, Hermione, Ron or your girlfriend anytime, Harry. You should know that. It's okay to be vulnerable at times. We know you're strong. Plus, it's not good to bottle up your feelings. I should know."

They were silent for a few moments. Then Harry said, "Your birthday's coming up soon, isn't it?"

She lifted her head from his. "Yes, it's on Friday. How'd you know that?"

"Sirius kept talking about you around this time last year. All he wanted to do was get you the perfect gift…I think that's when I first learned about you. He would _not_ stop telling everyone around him everything about you," said Harry. Pepper could tell that he was smiling at the memory.

"Really?" said Pepper. "He never told me about you." She rested her head back on Harry's. "What'd he tell you about me?"

"That you were marvelous." Harry chuckled. "That you were so smart and beautiful and wonderful. He basically made you out to be the best person on earth. Truth be told, it made me a little intimidated of you. Sirius used to flash pictures of you all over the place, though they weren't recent. Before I met you I thought you were this little eleven-year-old looking girl. He was so proud of you, Pepper."

Pepper just sighed, staying silent. Harry's head rose and fell with her shoulders.

"You're thinking about that Féminin Vivreencore Curse, aren't you?" Harry asked, raising his head.

The corner of Pepper's mouth turned up into a half-smile. "How'd you know?" she wondered.

Harry shrugged. "It's what I was thinking about," he said. "But I don't know if it's even worth trying at this point…like brewing it over the summer or something. After we both came that close to death…I don't think I want to risk that again."

"Yeah," said Pepper, shrugging as well. "I think we're just going to have to move on. What's done is done. There isn't any good in dwelling on it for too long. Plus, we're not, like, going out or anything anymore. So the kiss part…"

Pepper realized that was the wrong thing to say as soon as the words left her lips. They fell into an uncomfortable silence, neither looking at the other.

"You're happy with Ginny, right?" Pepper said finally, wanting to break the silence.

Harry caught her eye for his response. He wanted to prove to her that he was truthful. He wanted to prove it to himself, come to that. "Yes, I'm very happy with her," he replied.

Pepper nodded, biting the inside of her cheek. "That's good," she nodded, and smiled to show she meant it, even though she wasn't sure she did.

A little after midnight Pepper crept back into her dorm room. As she passed by Hermione's bed, she heard heavy, labored breathing from behind the curtains. "Hermione…?" Pepper said. She parted the curtains to find a disheveled Hermione: brown hair sticking out, face pale even in the dark of the room. She was gasping for breath; the bed sheets had all been kicked from her body. She seemed to be oblivious of Pepper's presence.

"Hermione," Pepper repeated, climbing onto the foot of the bed.

Hermione's head snapped up. "Pepper," she said. "I had a nightmare."

Pepper crawled closer to her friend. "Do you want some company, then?" she asked.

"Pepper, I'm afraid," Hermione admitted as she and Pepper lay back on Hermione's pillow.

"Of what?" Pepper asked, facing Hermione's worried profile. Hermione was staring at the canopy above her.

"I really haven't got anyplace to live," said Hermione. "My only relatives are in Australia and I've only met them twice in my entire life." Her voice caught and Pepper moved closer to her friend, resting her forehead on the side of Hermione's head.

"Hermione, would you want to live with me?" she asked quietly, seeing as her mouth was placed right next to Hermione's ear.

"If it were possible I would," Hermione whispered in return.

"What if it were possible?" said Pepper. "I want you to. I've talked to my aunts already and they agreed to let you live with us. They know how much I care about you and they care about you too."

"Pepper," said Hermione, raising her head from the pillow, causing Pepper to move her head back a bit. Hermione looked down at her friend from her raised position. "Pepper, are you inviting me to come live with you?" Hermione breathed in disbelief.

Pepper propped her head up with her hand, pushing her dark hair back from her face. "That's what I'm doing," she said. "I can understand if you don't want to. I mean, you've only known me for a year and I'm sure you'd like to see Australia…"

"Pepper are you _mad_?" said Hermione, her eyes wide. She was sitting up completely now. "I would absolutely _love_ to come and live with you! I can't believe your aunts agreed to it…"

Hermione was out of breath, her eyes shining. "We'll have to share a room," said Pepper, sitting up as well. "There are already five people living in the house…six with the baby…wow…"

"I don't care, I'll help out as much as I can," said Hermione quickly. "I just…this is so exciting! I want to go thank your aunts _right now_."

"Hermione, it's the middle of the night, I doubt they're awake," Pepper pointed out. She was grinning, though. "And we have exams tomorrow, so I think you should probably get some sleep."

"Oh yes…right," said Hermione. She hugged Pepper. "Thank you so much, Pepper. I'll visit your aunts tomorrow…good night." She released Pepper from the hug.

"Good night Hermione," said Pepper, and she left Hermione's four-poster to go to her own.

The next day Hermione did indeed go and visit Pepper's aunts. After dinner she hurried up to their tower, Pepper and Ron in tow. Harry was off somewhere with Ginny; none of them wanted to know where.

Hermione knocked on the entrance to their quarters and the first person that answered the knock was almost knocked to the ground by a crushing embrace from Hermione. It appeared that she had launched herself at Paige. When she finally stepped back, Paige could see who it was.

"Hello, Hermione," she greeted, a crooked smile on her face. She had a slight idea of what this was about.

"Thank you thank you thank you!" said Hermione in a rush. "I'd really love to come and live with you! I won't be a burden. I'll do whatever you want me to!"

"Come in," Paige laughed. "Hi Pepper, Ron," she said once she realized that Hermione was not alone.

The four of them settled themselves in the sitting room. "Piper's picked out a name," Paige announced proudly.

"What is it?" Pepper asked, smiling.

"Wyatt Matthew Halliwell," said a voice. Piper was standing at the top of the spiral staircase and she came down, Wyatt in her arms. "Hi Ron, hi Hermione," she said before she returned turned back to the subject of her son. "I named him Wyatt after his father, and Matthew after his Aunt Paige."

"So his name is just a bunch of surnames put together," Pepper concluded, taking the baby from Piper as she came over and raising an eyebrow at her aunt.

"Basically," said Piper. "So, why is it you're all here?"

"Hermione wants to come live with us," said Pepper, tickling her cousin under the chin.

"Yes, I really would," Hermione beamed. "Thank you so much for the offer, I don't really want to go live in Australia which is where I'd have to be if you didn't—"

"Hermione, it's no problem at all, you'll just have to pull your weight around the house," Piper said.

"Yes, of course," Hermione nodded. She hadn't been able to stop smiling all day.

"We'll have to get you a bed before the term's over…Pepper, do you mind if we rearrange your room a bit?" Piper looked at her niece. "We'll have to get the room set up before Hermione moves in…"

"No problem," Pepper shrugged.

"You all have exams to study for; you'd better go do that!" Paige said. "We don't want your grades slipping just because of us. We'll work everything out for Hermione to live with us. Now go enjoy the last week you have."

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**A/N: **Once again, you people who want a sequel, even if you've never reviewed the story…if you're reading and you want a sequel, please review and tell me so!


	52. Chapter 51: Homeward Bound

**READ THE AUTHOR'S NOTE! **

**A/N: **You reviewers have no idea how much I love you. I am going to, like, cry! Your reviews are so nice and it seems a lot of you want a sequel! Well, I do have ideas for one, so it's going to happen. I don't know if it will be as long…but it will happen! There are probably only going to be two more chapters in this story.** I have sort of a contest for you, my loving readers. Whoever can guess one or both of the two main reasons why I called the story _Sugar and Spice, It's Not Always Nice, _can help pick the title of the sequel! So whoever wants to participate…just review! Yay!**

Now some notes to some of you…

**Powerof3or4: **Pepper's not my name, so of course you can use it. Just make sure you tell me when you start writing your fic so I can read it :-)

**Love it: **Let's see where are the hits…? You go to STATS and then it shows you.

**Lady Emerald Black**: It's always a pleasure to read your reviews. :-D If you have some ideas for me, then I'd be happy to hear them!

**Lacey: **Thanks for the review, since I haven't heard from you before, I don't think. I feel so honored that I make your day go by faster at work! Keep reviewing please. :-)

**Also thanks to charmedsisters, Pipercharmed, charmedluver , Little Miss Spell-of-the-Week, goldengirl14, witchy girl 88, elise, and jadelouise.**

Sorry this chapter is so short…..but here it is!

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**Chapter Fifty-One**

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It seemed impossible to do the things you wanted to do in the last week of Hogwarts. Pepper's aunts were making the preparations for Hermione to come and live with them; Harry and Ginny and Ron and Hermione seemed to be spending all of their time together; Pepper couldn't seem to find Alana or Blaise to have a chat, and Malfoy was just avoiding her entirely, though she had managed to catch his eye one night at dinner while he strode out of the Great Hall, Pansy Parkinson on his arm.

Thus, the first few days of seventeen-year-old Pepper were spent babysitting her cousin, Wyatt, since everyone else at Hogwarts seemed to be busy.

And so, the days sped by. Pepper wasn't sure if she was looking forward to, or dreading leaving Hogwarts. Her life this year had definitely been turned upside down, flung around, and done somersaults, but she liked to think that it was all good for her. Magic happened for a reason: that was a lesson her aunts had taught her.

One day, after a particularly lonely lunch, void of any of the happy couples, who had chosen to dine outside in the sunny whether, Pepper spotted Malfoy and Blaise walking together down a corridor. She hurried as quietly as she could down the stone-floored hallway and squeezed between the two friends, linking arms with them.

Both Blaise and Malfoy looked rather surprised at this, and both tried to pull their arms away from Pepper, but she squeezed them to her sides and held her own hand out in front of her so neither boy could escape her clutches. "Hello, boys," she greeted cheerfully.

"Sod off, Halliwell," Blaise said.

"That's not very nice, Blaise," Pepper scolded playfully. She had been so bored for the past few days that she was starved for company: even if that company was two Slytherins who happened to dislike her very much.

"What are you _doing_, Halliwell?" Malfoy drawled.

"Having a chat," Pepper replied. "What's the problem?"

"You're a Gryffindor," said Malfoy.

"Let's pretend I'm not," Pepper said. "Let's pretend I'm a Slytherin and I want to talk to two of my Slytherin friends, Malfoy and Blaise, because I am bored out of my mind and want some company."

Neither one of them seemed to have a response to that, so Pepper continued. "Why in the world do I call Malfoy Malfoy and Blaise Blaise? Shouldn't I call you both by either your first or last name?"

"I really prefer Zabini, if the name is coming from your mouth, Halliwell," said Blaise. The trio turned a corner and hit a staircase leading to the dungeons.

"Actually, I was thinking that I'd start calling Malfoy Draco, seeing as we're what, second cousins?" Pepper looked curiously at Malfoy. Blaise looked even more curiously at Malfoy.

"You two are related?" Blaise asked, raising an eyebrow in amusement.

"Don't remind me," said Draco coldly.

"So Blaise," said Pepper, changing the subject, "I was wondering why you and Alana broke up."

"It's none of your business, Halliwell," Blaise said, his voice hard as stone. He was now looking straight ahead instead of at his friend.

Pepper gave the Slytherin's trapped arm a squeeze with her own arm. "C'mon Blaise, you can tell me. You're among friends here."

"You are _not_ my friend, Halliwell," said Blaise, his tone not changing from the stony one he had used previously.

"You know, I've been meaning to talk to you about that," Pepper said, as light and cheerful as could be. "I consider you _my_ friend, so why don't you consider me _your_ friend? Am I really that unlikable?"

"Yes." That was Draco's plain answer.

"Well Alana likes me," Pepper retorted. "And she's a Slytherin."

"Alana's a whore," said Blaise.

"Pardon?" Pepper cried, so surprised that she loosened her grip on both boys' arms. The two promptly pulled themselves out of her grasp. "Why in the hell are you calling Alana a whore?"

"Because she is one," Blaise said.

"She didn't…cheat on you, did she?" Pepper asked carefully.

When Blaise started to walk quickly down the corridor in answer, Pepper said, "You have _got_ to be kidding me. Alana cheat—"

"Halliwell, let it go," Draco said, and he headed off down the hallway after his best friend.

Pepper, Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione shared a compartment on the train ride back to Kings Cross station. The two couples were being considerate of Pepper by not touching each other as much as normal, and for that Pepper was grateful. For the few short hours on the train it was just the five friends being friends.

Professor McGonagall called a prefect meeting towards the end of the train ride, so Ginny, Hermione, and Ron left the carriage, leaving Harry and Pepper alone.

"You know Harry," Pepper started to say, at the same time Harry said, "Pepper I—"

They both stopped talking and laughed. "You go first," they offered in unison, and laughed again. "You first," Harry said.

"Alright," said Pepper. "I just wanted to say thanks for this year and everything you did for me."

Harry cocked a half-smile. "Funny," he said, "that's what I was going to say to you."

Pepper raised a skeptic eyebrow at him. "Are you serious?"

"Absolutely," said Harry. "If it weren't for you being here this year then we wouldn't have defeated Voldemort, Hermione and Ron might not be together, Ginny and I wouldn't be together, I wouldn't have had nearly as much fun, there wouldn't have been so much drama, and I wouldn't have made a great new friend or a brilliant broomstick." He grinned at her.

"Er…thanks…I think," said Pepper, smiling. Then her face became serious again. "You _are_ happy with Ginny."

"Very," Harry said. "Why do you keep asking me?" He looked expectantly at Pepper.

"No reason," said Pepper, but she felt herself go red and she bowed her head.

"Oh, I'm sure there is a reason." There was a very pregnant pause in which Pepper didn't say anything. "You know, Pepper, I waited for you for a very long time. You were the one that didn't do anything about it. You knew that I fancied you."

Pepper looked up, dumbstruck.

"I just felt like shouting, "Damn it Pepper! I want you and I can't wait for you to sort out your feelings anymore!" But I didn't, and now I'm with Ginny and, well, here we are."

Pepper gaped at Harry, but not for the reason he thought she was gaping. She was sitting there, jaw nearly to the floor, because she was having a very odd sense of déjà vu. "Harry," she said slowly, "I think…I think I just had a premonition."

"_What?_" said Harry, in total confusion. "But Pepper, you can't have premonitions, can you? I didn't think you had that power. Wait, you mean you had one _just now_?"

"No, I think one just _came true_," said Pepper, trying to grasp at the memory she had just relived. "When you were yelling at me…" She squinted her eyes in concentration. "I think…when I got my memory back….I had a flash of you saying that to me…"

"Since when could you get premonitions?" Harry wondered. "I thought that was your Aunt Phoebe's power."

"It is," said Pepper. "I had no idea that I could get them; it's only been the one time."

"Aren't premonitions supposed to help protect the innocent?" said Harry, his mind completely off the subject they were on before. "Why would you get a premonition about me talking to you?" said Harry.

"I have no idea," Pepper said. "I think I remember my aunt Phoebe telling me that when she first got her power, she didn't always have visions of innocents. I think there was one time, actually, when she had a premonition about a guy coming over and offering to buy her a drink. And I think that what I had was definitely a premonition…this is just too weird. Why am I getting so many powers?"

"Well, you are supposed to be the most powerful witch on earth, aren't you?" Harry shot Pepper a smirk and she wrinkled her nose at him. They were quiet for a moment before Pepper broke the silence.

"Oh, and Harry, I totally understand what you're saying," she said quietly. "I mean," she shrugged, "I waited too long."

It was then that Ginny, Ron and Hermione decided to return to the compartment. They were laughing and talking amongst themselves as they sat down. Ginny and Harry kissed, though afterwards Harry shot Pepper a slightly puzzled look.

The rest of the train ride was spent mostly talking about the summer and next year. Pepper was still contemplating her new power and wondering why she's only had one premonition and it was for something that happened months after she had a vision about it.

"Pepper? Oh _Pepper?_" said Ron, stretching out her name to get her attention.

Pepper snapped out of her thoughts. "What?" she said eyes wide to show that she was attentive.

"I asked if your aunts would mind you and Hermione coming over this summer," Ron repeated.

"Oh, yea, I'm sure it would be fine with them," said Pepper.

"I can't believe that you'll all be in seventh year next year," Ginny said, sighing and leaning against her boyfriend, who put his arm around her shoulders. Pepper was slightly shocked to feel a bolt of jealousy go through her. She vowed to herself that this summer she would get over Harry.

The goodbyes at King's Cross station were slightly tearful on the parts of Ginny and Hermione as they said goodbye to their boyfriends.

Pepper gave Ginny and Ron hugs and then moved on to Harry. "I'm here if you need me, Harry," she whispered in his ear before releasing him.

"I know," he mouthed and smiled.

"Harry, we're leaving!" a deep, booming voice a ways away. Harry turned to see his Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia and Cousin Dudley huddled near Platform 8. Dudley looked rather scared to be near all the families exiting the barrier between Platforms 9 and 10.

"'Bye," Harry smiled at his friends.

"C'mon boy, we don't have all day!" Uncle Vernon bellowed.

"I can't wait till I come of age and can move out," Harry sighed to Pepper, Ginny, Ron and Hermione.

"See you this summer, Harry," Ginny said, blowing him a kiss.

"See you, mate," said Ron.

Pulling his trunk behind him, Harry went over to join his extended family.

"Pepper, Hermione, let's go!" That was Piper calling.

"Well, see you later," Pepper said to her new friends. After Hermione had said her goodbyes as well, she and Pepper headed in the direction of Pepper's aunts to head home.

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**Remember the contest!**


	53. Chapter 52: A Helpful Tool

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**A/N: **Another CHAPTER! **ONLY ONE MORE TO GO! ** It's sort of funny how I update the day before big things happen…before I went to camp, before my foreign exchange student came (that was two updates ago), and now, the day before school starts. I'm not sure when the next update will be…probably next weekend. And then the sequel shall start…I signed up for so many things this year, so I have no idea how frequent my updates will be on that. I'll try to do it as often as possible, if my sophomore year doesn't turn out to be as busy as I think it will be. Oh, also, I think I will be **revising this story**, maybe before the sequel starts. There are some things I need to cut out of this that are just dumb and pointless.

**THANK YOU to the people who participated in the contest**. **Lady Emerald Black **and **goldengirl14** were both right! Therefore, can you two **email** me (at flyingchipmunk613 AT or just **IM** me (at Twizzlergal613) if you come up with a title? I would prefer IMing but whatever you wish!

**Pipercharmed**, thanks for participating. You gave two really good reasons. I wish I'd thought of them but mine weren't that complicated…hehe.

So here it is! CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO!

REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!

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**Chapter Fifty-Two**

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"Welcome home, Hermione," Phoebe said as they opened the Manor's front door.

Hermione smiled. "This is so great of you. I just can't thank you enough," she said.

"You don't have to," said Piper. "You're part of the family now." The baby Wyatt in her arms started to fuss.

Pepper took Hermione up to the room that they shared to find it completely transformed from Pepper's old room.

There were two single beds in the room, one against a wall and the other against the adjacent wall. The heads of the two beds were against each other. There were two dressers, set side-by-side, and Pepper's vanity and desk remained.

Pepper dropped her small bag on her bed and wheeled her trunk into the room. "Wow, they've really done a number on my room," she said.

"It would look that way," said Hermione. Then she turned to her friend. "Pepper, this is so bloody _amazing_!" she gushed. "We're going to be living together! We're going to be _sisters!_"

Pepper beamed. "Yes we are," she said. "Let's just hope we don't get tired of each other.

"GIRLS!" called Phoebe's voice from downstairs. "We're going out for a celebratory dinner! If you'd like to come, be downstairs in five minutes!"

When the family, returning from the restaurant, pulled into the Manor's driveway, Pepper driving Leo and Hermione, Phoebe taking Piper, Paige and the baby, they spotted the moving van across the street. And Pepper spotted the one person that was going to help her get over Harry this summer.

"Hermione," she hissed, pulling her friend by the arm so Hermione wouldn't go inside the house with everyone else. To her aunts and uncle, she called, "We'll be right in!" They closed the front door, leaving Hermione and Pepper outside.

Across the street, a white moving van was parked outside the house and there were movers in uniforms unloading the back of the vehicle. They were carrying furniture into the house. A woman in a sundress was standing by the front door of the house, directing the men. And coming out of the back of the moving van was…

"Hermione, _look_," Pepper said, pointing to the boy coming out of the back of the truck.

"He's gorgeous," said Hermione, eyeing him as well.

He had the bad boy look going for him; that much was obvious. He had dark, messy hair, a very nice body, (even through his t-shirt you could see that), a shadow of hair growing on his chin, and he was wearing dark sunglasses.

"Do you want to go say hello?" Pepper asked. "We could introduce ourselves…"

"You just want to snog him," said Hermione, turning to face her friend. Pepper looked back innocently and shrugged.

"C'mon, Hermione, let's go say hi," she smiled. Before Hermione could protest, she was being dragged across the street by the arm.

The boy (Man is more like it, Pepper thought), turned to look at him as they went to stand next the moving van.

"Hello," Pepper said, smiling. She had let go of Hermione's arm by this point, and was using her hand to send him a little wave. "We seem to be neighbors."

He jumped down from the van and stood in front of them. He was even better looking up close. "Hello," he greeted. He removed the sunglasses from his face. Pepper had to stifle a gasp at the dazzling blue-green swirls that were his eyes.

"I'm Pepper," said Pepper, "and this is my friend Hermione."

"Hi," said Hermione.

"Are you British?" he asked. Hermione nodded, her cheeks turning slightly pink. "Hello Pepper and Hermione, it's nice to meet you," he said. "I'm Raphael. Do you live across the street?"

"Yup," said Pepper, the smile still on her face. "We just got home from school this afternoon."

"Really?" said Raphael. "I got back a few days ago. You two look a bit too young to be in college. Where do you go to school? I go to California University."

Pepper was about to make up a college she and Hermione went to, just to impress the very attractive Raphael, but before she could, Hermione said, "Oh we're not in college. We go to boarding school."

That was when his face fell a little bit. Pepper fought the urge to death-glare her friend. "But we're graduating next year," Pepper recovered quickly. "So are you a freshman or a sophomore?"

"I'll be a sophomore next year," replied Raphael.

"Raphael! Help the movers put the couch in!" a female voice yelled from behind the truck. Pepper guessed it was the woman they had seen in the sundress.

He looked up somewhat and yelled, "Coming mom!" He looked back at Pepper and Hermione. "Well, it was nice meeting you. I've got to go. See you around." And with that, he walked around the van.

The two girls headed back to the Manor. "Wow," Pepper sighed. "He's amazing."

"And at least two years older than you," cautioned Hermione. "Plus, he probably has a girlfriend at university."

"But you don't know that," Pepper said, opening the house's front door.

"Not yet," said Hermione. "Just don't be too quick to snog him, that's all. I don't want you getting hurt."

"Don't worry about me, Hermione. Just worry about getting used to life in San Francisco," said Pepper. "Especially San Francisco life in the Halliwell house."

The family was gathered in the living room. When Pepper and Hermione entered, Piper said, "Ah, Hermione, we need to discuss a few things with you. Have a seat."

Hermione took a seat on the couch in between Paige and Phoebe. Piper was seated in an armchair across from the couch, Leo was in the one next to it, and Pepper sat on the arm of Piper's chair.

"We wanted to talk about the demon attacks with you, Hermione," Piper said. "When you were here last, I recall you trying to help us defeat a demon. We found out then that wand magic doesn't really do much to demons, and it might do less to warlocks. Therefore, we've come to the agreement that we'd like you to stay out of the way when a demon attacks. None of us want you to get hurt."

"But—" began Hermione, though she wasn't sure what she was going to say in protest, seeing as Piper was right. She knew that she hadn't really been much help the last time she was here and a demon attacked, but she wanted to help. She hated sitting around doing nothing, especially when there was danger. Though, she figured, if she couldn't do anything to the demon, it was better to stay out of the way than to put the Halliwells in even more danger. "Alright," she agreed with Piper. "I'll stay out of the way."

Piper smiled at her. "We also wanted to talk about house rules and such," she said.

"I'm going to see Wyatt," Pepper said, slipping out of the living room and heading upstairs. She'd heard "rules and such" too many times, so she left Hermione to hear it for the first time and to hear whatever else her aunts wanted to discuss.

Her cousin was asleep in his crib. His nursery was Piper and Leo's old walk-in closet. Leo had cleared it out, painted it pink (they had definitely been expecting a girl, seeing as all the Halliwells were women), and added a window to lighten it up.

Wyatt squirmed in his sleep. Pepper sat in the rocking chair by his crib and watched him. She wondered if her Aunt Piper would have two more boys and they would be the next Power of Three. Sadly, she finally admitted that she would never be apart of the Power of Three. She would never have any brothers or sisters that could complete the Power of Three.

And then Pepper wondered what would happen if each of her aunts had three children. Would there be three separate trios and then Pepper, the lone child? Though, though Pepper, aren't I supposed to be the most powerful witch in the world? She figured, however, that she would seem very inferior to nine witches all going by the last name of Halliwell.

Wyatt made a whining sound and stirred from sleep. His eyes opened and he stared at the ceiling. Pepper went over and plucked him from the crib. She returned to the rocking chair and rocked him so he wouldn't start crying.

"Will you stop loving me if you have two brothers and six other cousins that are all part of the Power of Three?" Pepper asked her tiny cousin. "Though, by the time you, the rest of Aunt Piper, Aunt Paige and Aunt Phoebe's kids are my age, I'll be old." Wyatt's eyelids were beginning to droop closed. Still, Pepper went on, "I'll be your mom's age by the time your brothers and cousins are teenagers, Wyatt. How's that for something scary? By that time I may even be a mother myself. And still, I won't have ever been part of the Power of Three."

"Pepper," said a voice from the doorway. It came so suddenly that Pepper jumped, disturbing Wyatt into full wakefulness again. She turned her head to see her Aunt Phoebe. "Don't you get it, Pep?" Phoebe said, coming into the nursery.

"Get what?" Pepper asked.

"That you're your own Power of Three," said Phoebe.

"What are you talking about?" Pepper asked. "I can't be the Power of Three when I'm one person."

"You're as powerful as us Charmed Ones, Pep," Phoebe said. "You may not know it now, and you may not be able to control all of that power yet, but you really are."

"You're kidding," said Pepper in disbelief. "But the Halliwells have been waiting for the Charmed Ones for centuries…"

"Yes, well, you were a bit of a surprise," Phoebe said, chuckling. "It's true, though: you're more powerful than your three aunts. And I'm sure you'll learn that soon enough." She took a seat in a chair on the side of the room opposite from Pepper.

"So what are you plans for this summer?" Phoebe enquired.

Pepper debated for a moment whether or not to tell her Aunt Phoebe about their new neighor, Raphael, and the fact that she wanted him to be a large part of her summer. She decided against the second half.

"Well, I'd like to get a job," said Pepper, "since I'm old enough and all. And a tan would be nice. And…I'd really like to get over Harry."

Pepper had always been able to talk to her Aunt Phoebe more easily than her other aunts, or even her mother. One of the reasons was probably because, while Prue had been alive, Phoebe was the youngest. She was only fourteen years older than Pepper was, and it seemed that she could relate more to her niece than Piper, Prue, or Paige could. However, Phoebe always encouraged Pepper to talk to her mother. She said that she should cherish the time she had with Prue, because she didn't know how much time that would be.

Even when Paige showed up, Pepper still found it easier to talk to Aunt Phoebe, even though Paige was only twelve years older than herself. It seemed to Pepper that Phoebe understood things more, and she was more open to what a teenager had to say.

"Why do you have to get over Harry?" Phoebe asked. "I thought things were going well between you two…I thought you were just friends."

"Well, we were," said Pepper. "And then I found out Ginny liked him…I thought Harry was completely over me and I thought I was over him so I suggested to Ginny that she tell Harry that she liked him. Anyway, they started dating and it was then that I realized how jealous I was of Ginny. It's my fault; I know it is, for waiting too long. Harry told me that he had been waiting for me, but I was too dumb to realize I still liked him…OH! Aunt Phoebe, that reminds me of something," she said suddenly, recalling the realization on the train that she'd had a premonition.

"What is it?"

"_I had a premonition!_" said Pepper.

"Are you serious?" said a very surprised Phoebe.

"Yep," Pepper nodded vigorously. "A while back is when I had it…when I got my memory back. I was having all these flashes of things that have happened in the past, and then there was something I'd never seen before…and instead of color, it was in black in white. Then it happened on the train: what I'd seen. It was Harry telling me something…"

"Wow, Pep, this is amazing," Phoebe said. "How many powers do you have now?"

Pepper actually had to count them before replying. "Six," she said. "And now that I think about it…I now have all three of the Charmed Ones' powers. Well, the original Charmed Ones anyway. I have telepathy, the freezing thing, and now I'm clairvoyant. You know, they really need to come up with a proper name for freezing."

"See, I told you that you were more powerful than us. You have as many powers as the three of us had put together when Prue was alive," said Phoebe. "Now all you have to do is learn to control them all.

"But back to the other subject. You were telling me why you have to get over Harry," Phoebe added.

"I didn't realize that I liked him until it was too late," Pepper summarized the point of the story she had told a few minutes ago. "The two of us were talking on the train on the way home about it." Pepper looked down at Wyatt, who was now sleeping in her arms, before continuing. "I asked him if he was happy with Ginny and assured me that he was. He made it pretty clear that he's over me. Though he did give me this odd look after the whole thing…anyway, my point is that he's with Ginny now and it looks like their relationship will last a fairly long time. Therefore, I must get over him."

"It sounds like you have someone in mind to help you forget about Harry," Phoebe said, her eyebrow cocked.

Pepper took her time getting out of the rocking chair and putting her cousin in his crib before she answered. She turned, still standing next to the crib, to look at her aunt. "Did you see the moving van across the street when we came home tonight?" she wondered.

"Yes…oh Pepper, it's not our new neighbor, is it?" Phoebe asked.

Pepper blushed slightly and looked away. "I dunno if you saw him but…oh _god_ is he gorgeous. Hermione and I went over to meet him."

"Did you find out his name at least?" asked Phoebe.

Pepper looked back at her aunt somewhat disbelievingly. "_Yes_," Pepper said, as if making a point that she didn't just like to stare at guys. "Of course I learned his name."

"Well are you going to share it?" said Phoebe, teasing.

"Raphael," Pepper said. "He's so good looking."

"You can't really base a relationship off of looks, Pepper," said Phoebe. "Is he your age?"

"Not exactly," Pepper said, letting her eyes wander from Phoebe's face again.

"What do you mean, _not exactly_?" said Phoebe. "How much older is he, Pepper?"

"He'll be a sophomore at college next year," said Pepper, daring a glance at her aunt. "He's not that much older…only two or three years. You've dated older men before, Aunt Phoebe. Cole was older than you."

"Don't go getting defensive on me, Pep, I didn't say anything against it," Phoebe said, smiling at her niece's quick reaction. "That wasn't a very good parallel, either. It's different when I date older men. I'm an adult and age doesn't matter as much as it does when you're a teenager. Just be careful, that's all I have to say."

"That's what Hermione said," Pepper half-mumbled.

"Then maybe you should listen to her," said Phoebe, raising her eyebrow again; this time as more of a warning than a question. "I think Piper's done talking to Hermione about living here now. Maybe the two of you should go unpack and then head off to bed; you both must be exhausted."

Pepper nodded. She stared to leave the room but Phoebe caught her wrist as she headed through the door. Pepper looked down at Aunt Phoebe, who was still sitting in the wooden chair. "Tell me if anything goes wrong with Hermione living here or if anything's awkward," Phoebe said.

"Okay," Pepper nodded again.

"Oh, and keep me posted on the Raphael situation," Phoebe added. "I don't want you getting hurt."

"Thanks, Aunt Phoebe. For being there and everything," said Pepper. "I wouldn't be able to talk to Aunt Paige or Aunt Piper about any of this."

"I'm here for you sweetie," Phoebe grinned.

Pepper grinned back before leaving the nursery. She was ready to begin her summer with her best friend, now her roommate, her new little cousin, and her new love interest.

**HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP**

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	54. Chapter 53: Summer

11

**A/N: WELCOME TO THE LAST CHAPTER! 317 pages long is the story.**

**Thank you to my 5 reviewers. I got over 100 hits and still, I only got 5 reviews.**

**Lady Emerald Black: **I'm a sophomore in high school.

**IMPORTANT INFORMATION! **

Alright, so I'm going to do a sequel, yes this is the **last chapter**, and, thanks to **goldengirl14, **I'm going to call the sequel **_The Dangers of Sugar and Spice_**.

I am going to post the sequel in the HARRY POTTER SECTION. Just so you know that. Now that you know the title you can search it.

So, **every single person that reads this chapter should review it so I know that I have people that like this story. I mean, come on now people, it's the last chapter. Let me know you like the story. Please?**

**HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP**

**Chapter Fifty-Three**

**HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP**

_Dear Harry,_

_I hope Cashlinn finds you well, even if you are at the Dursley's.. Are you going to the Burrow soon? Ron hasn't invited Pepper and me yet._

_I've been having nightmares about the last battle, have you? Pepper said she's been having them too. They're making me miss my parents an awful lot. I wish that I could go home. I miss my normal routine…I miss my house and my parents and my old bed and my bathroom and my books and…just everything about home._

_Don't get me wrong, though, I'm adapting well to San Francisco, even if people asking me if I'm from England over and over is getting annoying. But Pepper and her aunts are great to me. Phoebe, Piper, and Paige have even told me that I can call them Aunt as well. Wyatt is so adorable! I've been helping out with him a lot. The Halliwells won't let me help them fight demons, which makes me kind of angry, but it's probably for the best. I've already seen loads of demons already. The powers Pepper and her aunts have are amazing to me._

_I hope to see you soon!_

_All my love,_

_Hermione_

Harry sighed and leaned back in his desk chair. He felt badly for Hermione and wished that he could be there for her. He knew what it was like to miss your parents. He wondered whether loosing them was harder when you had known them for sixteen years or if you only had fleeting memories of their faces.

He hoped that Pepper was there for Hermione while she was going through this. He knew that sometimes Pepper could be a little blind to other people's feelings. Plus, he figured that Hermione would probably try to hide the fact that she was missing her old home so she wouldn't offend Pepper or her aunts. Harry knew that they wouldn't be offended, but Hermione never wanted to take that chance. Sometimes she hid too far into herself. He hoped that that wouldn't happen and she'd at least talk to Ron about it.

_Ron,_

_How're things, mate? Have you talked to Hermione yet this summer? I can't believe you two didn't kick and scream when you had to be separated from each other when we got off the train. She was wondering when we were all going to see one another again. And, let me tell you, it's been a ruddy long few weeks since Hogwarts. I can't wait till I come of age. I want to get out of here._

_Have you gotten a letter from Hagrid this summer? He sent me an invitation to his wedding. Even though the wedding is this Christmas, he seemed keen on sending invitations early. I'm so glad he found Madame Maxime, they're perfect for each other._

_Can you believe it's our 7th year coming up? I'm amazed we've made it this far without Dumbledore expelling us. Ah, speaking of Dumbledore, don't you think it's time he settled down with someone like Hagrid's doing? What about McGonagall? D'you think they'd fancy each other?_

_Enough of this, I've got to go._

_Harry _

Ron chuckled to himself as he finished reading Harry's letter. He had, in fact, gotten an invitation from Hagrid just yesterday. He knew exactly how Harry felt about the summer dragging out. He couldn't wait to see Hermione again. He'd never known that he could miss a single person so much. He wanted to see Harry again as well, of course, but he _needed_ to see Hermione. It was at this point that he wished he had one of those Muggle contraptions his dad was always talking about—a telephone, that was it—so that he could talk to Hermione directly. He couldn't wait for the school year to begin again. Then he could see all of his friends every day. And he wouldn't have to deal with his brothers or his mother or the wedding that was coming up, courtesy of Bill.

_Draco,_

_Hello my lovely second cousin. How are you doing this fine summer? I just wanted to check up on you and make sure you're doing a wonderful job as a good person. Also, I was wondering where you're living, since your parents are in Azkaban and everything. _

_So I suppose I'll talk to you later. Say hello to Blaise for me if you see him. And ask him again why he hates me._

_Pepper_

Pepper finished up her letter to her second cousin. She really was concerned with how he was doing now that his parents were in jail and the Ministry of Magic had seized his house for search. She couldn't really tell him that she was concerned, though, because that would probably result in her being mocked. Therefore, she had to make the letter very sarcastic. Another plus to that was that it would probably piss Draco off, and that was always a good thing. She figured that he was probably staying with Blaise, since his parents hadn't been Death Eaters and therefore weren't captured by the Ministry.

_Hermione,_

_How's your summer going? I miss you so much. I'm still trying to convince Mum to have you lot over. She's a bit preoccupied at the moment: it would seem that Bill has met a woman. Fleur Delacour to be exact. Apparently, they've been dating for quite a while now. Fleur's been hanging out around the house all the time. She's got Mum all busy with wedding plans. Yes, it would seem that they are getting married. And mum doesn't really want extra people around the house until she gets things straightened out. That's what she says, at least. I think the real reason is that she's afraid of leaving the two of us alone, and of leaving Harry and Ginny alone. Even though I told her that if he does anything to her I'll rip him apart._

_I'll keep working on Mum; I know she'll give in eventually._

_Love,_

_Ron_

Hermione grinned as she re-read Ron's letter. She was sitting on her bed in the room she shared with Pepper, Cashlinn sat on the edge of the vanity. She was very happy for Bill, even if she had a less than positive opinion about Fleur Delacour. She doubted very much that Mrs. Weasley didn't want her and Pepper coming over because it was busy around the house. She agreed with Ron: Mrs. Weasley wanted them to keep their hands to themselves. Hermione wondered what she had done to lose Mrs. Weasley's trust in her. Maybe it was just that she didn't trust her son. Hermione smiled to herself. So far, she and Ron had only kissed, even if they were in love. Hermione had planned to let Ron go father with her this summer, though. She figured that she was ready.

_Dear Ginny,_

_How's life at the Burrow? I miss you and I hope that I can see you soon. Three weeks is too long to be apart from you. Ron told me that Bill's getting married to Fleur Delacour. I'm wondering how you feel about that..._

_I haven't heard anything from Pepper this summer, have you? I don't know whether to worry about it or not. She may just not like writing letters. Hermione hasn't said much about her either._

_What have you been doing over the holidays? Well, besides helping with the wedding plans?_

_I'm determined to see you soon. I'd like some time alone with you, though I think that's exactly what your mum's afraid of._

_See you. Love,_

_Harry_

Ginny pressed her lips together, trying not to cry. Her summer hadn't exactly gone as smoothly as she had wanted and she really needed to talk to Harry right now. Not to mention the fact that she would really like to kiss him. She was getting rather angry at her mum for not letting him come to the Burrow. She was tired of hearing about the wedding. She didn't like Fleur in the first place.

She re-read Harry's letter. This time, she caught the part about Pepper and she wondered why he was mentioning her.

_Pepper,_

_I don't know if Blaise told you anything about our breakup (I doubt he did). If he did tell you something, it was probably that I'm a bitch and a whore. I'm not, though. I may have cheated on him, but I never slept with Antonio. I was just getting kind of tired of Blaise. I needed something new and different for a while. I was planning on dumping Antonio soon, but then Blaise caught us snogging in a broom closet and it turned into a rather sticky situation. Blaise, I found, isn't much of the violent jealous type, but when he's pissed you do not want to cross him. It's not pretty._

_I just wanted to tell you what happened, since I didn't give you an explanation at school._

_I'll see you September,_

_Alana_

Pepper figured she felt bad for Blaise about this whole unfaithful-girlfriend thing. Still, seeing as Alana liked her and Blaise didn't, she was going to stay friends with Alana. She'd just have to watch where she hung out with her. She didn't know how angry Blaise still was about the whole ordeal.

_Harry,_

_Mum's finally given in! Well, to you coming anyway. I'm still working on Hermione and Pepper. I told her to think about how the Dursley's treat you and how you hate it there…the guilt trip worked. But I can't use that excuse for Pepper and Hermione. She knows Pepper's aunts are nice. Anyhow, Mum says we can pick you up next Monday. I really don't see why she won't let the girls come over as well. She told me it had something to do with me and Hermione being alone. I don't see how that makes any sense, though. She knows as well as we do that Hermione has her lousy morals and she won't really do anything but kiss, even if we are in love. You and Ginny on the other hand…I can break your neck, Harry, remember that. And I have spies everywhere._

_See you Monday,_

_Ron_

Harry fought the urge to jump for joy. He missed Ginny a _lot_ and he couldn't wait to see her. He wanted to see Ron, of course, but he didn't have the overwhelming urge to snog Ron.

He had a feeling that Ron wasn't going to need any of his spies; he would make sure himself that his little sister and his best friend didn't do anything.

_Harry,_

_Hey, Harry! I'm sorry that I haven't written yet this summer, but I've been pretty busy. I got a job at a local ice cream shop and I've been working every day…not to mention eating twice my weight in ice cream. How are things with Ginny? Are you still at the Dursley's or are you at the Burrow for the rest of the summer?_

_Oh! I've been meaning to tell you, I've got a boyfriend! A family moved in across the street when we got back from school and now I'm dating my neighbor. His name is Raphael and he's absolutely amazing. I want you, Ron and Ginny to meet him, I just don't know how that's going to happen. I want you to meet him especially. I think the two of you would really have a lot in common and would get along well. He's the best thing that's ever happened to me, Harry, and I'm just so happy. He is so gorgeous and so amazing and nice and…can I tell you something, Harry? I think I'm falling in love. I know you may disagree since I've only known him for a month, but he is so wonderful. Well, I have to go; Raphael and I have a date tonight. I miss you, Harry, and I really hope I get to see you soon._

_Love,_

_Pepper_

Ginny was reading the letter over Harry's shoulder. The two were sitting at the dining room table of the Burrow. When they'd both finished reading, they looked at each other. "She's fallen in love," said Ginny, sounding skeptical.

"Don't doubt her feelings, Gin," Harry said. "We've only got this letter to base things off of."

"Well, he must be something really bloody special if she's fallen in love after only a month of knowing him," shrugged Ginny.

"Maybe he is something special then," said Harry. He wondered why he felt a pang of jealously over Pepper's letter.

"Well I think she's just exaggerating," Ginny said. "And why does she just want you to know this? She hasn't told Ron or me about this, and we don't know that she told Hermione."

"I dunno, Gin," said Harry. "Maybe your letter is on its way." He wanted to change the subject and he wasn't sure why. And he turned his head and kissed Ginny to remind himself that his relationship with Pepper was part of the past.

_Dear Ron,_

_I miss you so much! Is there any chance that Pepper and I could come to the Burrow soon? I want to see you! I've become rather cranky, I think, and the Halliwells seem to be getting rather annoyed with me. I've been feeling especially lonely lately because Pepper found herself Raphael, I told you about him before, remember? Well, it would seem he is taking up most of her time. She is completely infatuated with him. So I need the boy who I'm completely infatuated with. I miss him._

_I love you,_

_Hermione_

Ron was aching with missing Hermione. He was annoying his mother to no end, but nothing seemed to be working. He wished that she trusted him, but she obviously didn't. Ron figured that she knew Hermione wouldn't do anything wrong with him, but he supposed that didn't matter, as long as her son was involved she was distrustful. He wondered if Hermione was willing to go any further with him now, since they had been separated for so long.

Harry had told him that Pepper had gotten herself a boyfriend, though Pepper hadn't told him directly. She hadn't told Ginny anything either, and Ginny reckoned it was because she had dated Harry and wanted to show him that she was completely over him. Ron had told her that Pepper was probably just better mates with Harry than she was with Ginny and himself. Ginny had told him that he didn't know anything.

_Hermione,_

_How are you? Hopefully you're not as bad off as Ron. He's storming around the house complaining to Mum about the fact that she won't let you come over. Harry arrived yesterday, so you can imagine how happy I am. Ron won't leave us alone, though. If he doesn't stop tailing us soon I'm going to go insane. He needs to stop being so overprotective of me. Therefore, you need to get over here so Ron can be happy and so he'll leave me alone! Well, I'll leave you alone now, a concept Ron hasn't quite grasped yet…_

_Love,_

_Ginny_

Just as Ginny sent her letter off, Ron came huffing into her room. She had managed to evade him for fifteen minutes while he was helping their mum with dinner, but he was back. "Where's Harry?" he demanded.

Resisting the urge to strangle her brother, Ginny replied, "He's in the loo, Ron. Will you leave me alone for two bloody seconds, for Merlin's sake?"

"I'm afraid I can't do that, Ginny, there's no telling what you'll do," said Ron. "Besides, you're the only two around here who I can spend time with, since Hermione and Pepper aren't here."

Ginny's eyes bulged. "Fine," she said. "I'm going downstairs to work on Mum. Hermione had better be allowed to come soon, or I won't be responsible for what I do to you, Ronald Weasley."

_Halliwell,_

_Why exactly are you sharing your personal life with Draco and me when we clearly don't care? After Draco sent you that last letter I thought that you'd go the bloody hell away. Obviously, neither one us wants to talk about anything that happened this year. Draco risked his bloody life for you so you should fuck off like he asked._

_Blaise_

Pepper wasn't too surprised at Blaise's letter. She'd found out a few letters ago that Draco was indeed staying at Blaise's house. And now she'd annoyed the two to the point that they'd finally told her to go away. She had to admit, she knew it was coming. But since Voldemort was destroyed it didn't seem to Pepper that inter-house rivalries meant much. Especially after all that had happened between her and Draco this year. But, apparently, neither Blaise nor Draco wanted to have anything to do with her. She was a little disappointed at this, she was surprised to find. Well, all she could do was keep sending letters and see if they kept responding. If they did then she would figure that they wanted to have something to do with her. If they didn't, well, then her first conclusion would still be correct.

_Hermione and Pepper,_

_Mum has cracked! Things have settled down a bit here so she finally agreed to let the two of you come for the rest of the summer! It took a fair bit of nagging and sulking on my part, but it finally worked. It's a good thing; I was getting rather frustrated. I've had nothing better to do than stalk Harry and Ginny around. Harry got here a few days ago and all I've been doing is tailing them around the house. I think Ginny is close to hexing me into oblivion. I still won't want them to be alone when you two are here, but at least I'll have other people here to keep my mind off of the fact that my little sister and my best friend are off somewhere doing Merlin knows what…I think I have to go remind Harry again that I can break his neck and tear him limb from limb._

_We'll come get you in two days._

_Ron_

Hermione squealed and jumped around the bedroom in joy. Cashlinn looked at her a little oddly. Hermione had been waiting for this for almost two months. She missed Ron to pieces and she was glad that Mrs. Weasley had finally decided to let her and Pepper come and stay for the rest of the summer. The only problem was Hermione wasn't sure if Pepper would actually want to go. She had become very Raphael-focused lately. She left their bedroom and bounded down the stairs into the conservatory, where Pepper was curled up in a chair reading a book.

"Hey Pepper, look at _this_!" Hermione cried, waving the letter in front of Pepper's face. Pepper looked up from her book and took the letter. Before she'd even gotten a chance to finish it, Hermione exclaimed, "We get to go to the Burrow! Aren't you excited?"

Pepper said, "Hermione, I don't think I can go."

_Dear Harry and Ron,_

_I'm getting really worried about Pepper. I'm so happy that we can come to the Burrow. When I got your letter I read it and then went straight to Pepper with it. I was so excited and jumping up and down and when she read it, all she said was, "Hermione, I don't think I can go. I mean, I can't very well ditch Raphael in the middle of the summer. I won't see him again until Christmas, then, and he may have found someone else by then."_

_A few weeks ago she was telling me how much she missed you both and how she couldn't wait to see you, and now her life is wrapped around Raphael. I think he's brainwashed her or charmed her. She claims that she's in love with him but I think it's just total infatuation. She's obsessed. She can't do anything without asking his permission first. She spends all of her time with him. I'm not exactly sure why she fell so hard for him, but I think it may have something to do with Harry. Not to put any guilt or blame on you because it's not your fault, it's just that at the start of the holidays she told me that she needed to get over you, Harry. So she went seeking for a love interest and when she found one that lived right across the street…well…_

_She was hurt at Hogwarts, I know. She felt used and people hurt her. She's been trying to cover it up lately and emerge herself in her new boyfriend but…I'll let her tell you the rest, I suppose, it's really not my business to tell. Anyway, I don't like Raphael. Personally, I think he's using Pepper, but I'm not going to be the one to tell her that. It just seems that he's always distracted and he's not wholeheartedly into their relationship. Did I mention he's three years older than she is? I think she may just be a fling for him…I really don't know. Or, perhaps, I'm completely off kilter and he just seems like he isn't wholeheartedly into their relationship because he's not in love with her and she really is in love. I'm telling you, though, it really doesn't seem like she is. She doesn't act and talk with Raphael the way I act and talk with you, Ron. Well, I suppose you'll both have to judge for yourselves. When you come to pick us up I'm sure you'll get to meet the infamous Raphael. And, just as a warning, Pepper will probably not want to go with you. You might have to literally drag her away. I know the separation from him will be good, though. And if she really is in love with him and we find that out while we're at the Burrow then I guess we'll just have to send her back home. We'll jump that hurdle when we reach it._

_See you both soon. All my love,_

_Hermione_

"You're kidding me," Harry said, staring at the piece of paper in front of him.

"Yea, Ginny was right," said Ron.

"No not about _that_," said Harry, giving Ron a small shove in the ribs with his elbow. "I can't believe that she's so obsessed with this guy that she won't come here for the rest of the summer. I think she needs to get away from him for a little while, like Hermione said."

"But Pepper told us how happy she is in her letters," argued Ron. "Maybe Hermione's just seeing one side of this guy. Maybe he and Pepper are both really happy together and they're both in love."

"Or maybe Hermione's right," said Harry.

"What if Hermione's wrong," Ron said. "Harry, I know what it's like to be separated from the person you're in love with. It's not a good feeling. Pepper claims that she's in love and I think that we should believe her. She's going to have to leave Raphael for the school year, at least let her have the rest of the summer together. And if I'm wrong and she's not in love," he shrugged, "then no harms' been done, right?"

Harry sighed. "I suppose not," he said. "We'll let Pepper decide for herself what she wants to do when we go pick her and Hermione up."

_Pepper,_

_I'm very excited about seeing you soon. I've missed you and Hermione a lot this summer and I can't wait until you come to the Burrow. I want to hear about everything you've been doing this summer and especially about this boyfriend of yours, he sounds very interesting. I'm happy that you're happy and you've found someone you want to be with. I'm sure you'll both miss each other until Christmas, but you can write to each other! I can't wait to see you. We've all missed you a lot and Ginny'd like your help with the wedding plans for Bill and Fleur. Mrs. Weasley seems to be overworking her._

_See you very soon._

_Harry_

Harry knew that he was the one to suggest that Pepper choose what she wanted to do for the rest for the summer, but that was just a ploy to get Ron to be quiet and stop making such a good point. In reality, he agreed with Hermione about Raphael. After all, she was the one who had met him. Therefore, Harry thought that Pepper needed a little nudge.

On one hand, he figured that it might be better if just Hermione were to come; Ron would be occupied with her, and Harry with Ginny. They could spend time apart as a couple or the four of them together as couples. Pepper would be the fifth wheel or the third wheel almost the entire time. Plus, Harry though, if Pepper didn't come it would be just like old times…No. Harry shook that thought from his head. There were no more old times; too much had changed this year for there to be old times. He wanted Pepper here, as did everyone else.

_Halliwell,_

_Would you like my advice? Seeing as you keep mailing Draco and me, it would seem that you do. My first piece of advice is to stop sending us letters. My second piece of advice is to break up with your boyfriend. He seems like a bloody git. You shouldn't spend that much time with anyone. It sounds to me like he's just using you to get what he wants. And it would seem from the way you keep banging on about him that he will get what he wants from you. So break up with him, he's not even worth your time. He's just messing around with you. As soon as you go back to school he'll break up with you. In fact, he might be cheating on you as we speak._

_Blaise_

Pepper balled the letter up furiously and hurled it against the wall. The tissue box on her nightstand soon followed the paper. "Arrrrgh!" she seethed, huffing through her teeth. "He has _no _right, no right at all!" she continued to the empty bedroom. "How _dare_ he say that?"

Raphael cares about me, she thought. I care about him. "He is _not_ using me. He cannot be _cheating_ on me!" She squeezed her eyes shut to get the letter out of her mind, but the words were branded on the back of her eyelids. She popped her eyes open again.

What really made her angry was the fact that Blaise had said, in not so many words, that she was a gullible slut. Sure, she had gone farther with Raphael than she had with Harry, but that was for good reasons. She was in love with Raphael, for starters. And she and Harry really hadn't done all that much. Plus, Raphael was a much better kisser. They hadn't gone all the way, but Pepper hadn't even told Hermione how far they'd gone. She wasn't sure what Hermione would say.

Behind her back, the phone on her nightstand rang. She breathed deeply to calm down before she answered it.

"Hello?"

"Hey, babe."

Pepper smiled, cupping the phone in her hand and sitting down on her bed. "What're you doing?" she asked.

"Wondering if you want to go out tonight," Raphael replied in that gravely, sexy voice of his.

This made Pepper's smile become wider. "Of course I do," she said.

No, he couldn't be cheating on her. He loved her and she loved him. They had a good relationship. He didn't use her.

Blaise didn't know anything about her or Raphael. No one knew anything.

_The End_

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